Generation and amplification of a multi-beam sub-nanosecond laser

In this paper, a methodology to produce a multi-beam sub-nanosecond laser is proposed. Laser pulses with a pulse energy of 0.14 mJ and a pulse width of 490 ps are generated in a YAG/Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG microchip laser at a repetition rate of 200 Hz. After amplification with a laser diode (LD) side-pumped Nd:YAG module, four laser beams are generated because of the thermally induced birefringence. With a double-pass LD side-pumped amplifier, the single pulse energy of the four laser beams is amplified to 5.23 mJ with a peak power of similar to 10.67 MW, and air breakdown with four points is achieved with a 2 x 2 lens array. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

This paper proposes a methodology to produce a multi-beam sub-nanosecond laser, which generates laser pulses with high energy and peak power, achieving air breakdown with four points using amplification technology and a lens array.