Amplification of mode-locked trains with a liquid laser amplifier, Nd3+: POCl3: ZrCl4

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Abstract
The performance of the Nd3+: POCl3: ZrCl4 system as a laser amplifier is investigated using mode-locked pulse trains as the input signals. These have energies of 30 to 80 mJ, and they consist of pulses of width approximately 5 × 10−12 s. Gains of 9 have been obtained from a system 155 mm long and 75 mm in diameter with input energies of 1 kJ. The high gains obtained make the Nd3+: POCl3: ZrCl4 system a serious competitor in the field of high-power amplifier development in view of its advantages over other kinds of systems, namely that the active medium can be circulated and is free of damage problems. Beam patterns obtained show that the most serious problem in this kind of amplifier is thermal distortion due to heating by the pumping radiation. Experimental curves showing the gain, input and output characteristics of the amplifier are presented. They are in good agreement with the theoretical curves of Schulz-Dubois and show similar behaviour to the characteristics of Nd-glass amplifiers obtained with different experimental methods.