University of Rochester

Carl H Petras

Irl N Duling, Iii

Steven L Williamson

Samuel A Letzring

Philippe Bado

Theodore Sizer, Ii

Girard Mourou

A CW pumped regenerative laser amplifier system capable of producing amplified laser pulses of variable repetition rate (e.g., 10 Hz to 10 kHz) with high energy stability. The regenerative amplifier is seeded by pulses injected into the optical cavity of the amplifier from a CW pumped modelocked laser.

CW pumper CW pumped variable repetition rate regenerative laser

A Pockels cell driver useful to operate the Pockels cell as an optical shutter to select one or more laser pulses out of a train of laser pulses when the Pockels cell is placed between crossed polarizers. The Pockels cell is connected through a storage capacitor, of higher capacitance than the capacitance of the Pockels cell, directly to a high voltage source and is charged to high voltage. The cell is charged and the storage capacitor is discharged through a microwave triode which is triggered by an avalanche transistor switch circuit. By directly charging the Pockels cell, lower currents are used than with conventional Pockels cell drivers using transmission lines to connect to the Pockels cell and gas filled tubes to switch a pulse-forming line. The Pockels cell shutter can be operated to provide transmission intervals for the laser pulses of the order of a nanosecond at high repetition rates, up to 10 KHz, without jitter in the timing of the transmission interval and for long periods of time without frequent need for replacement of the microwave triode.

Pockels cell driver

Growing community of inventors

Cameron, NY, United States of America

Carl H Petras