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Power Scaling Feasibility of Chromium-Doped II-VI Laser Sources and the Demonstration of a Chromium-Doped Zinc Selenide Face- Cooled Disk Laser

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Power Scaling Feasibility of Chromium-Doped II-VI Laser Sources and the Demonstration of a Chromium-Doped Zinc Selenide Face- Cooled Disk Laser Air Force Institute of Technology AFIT Scholar Theses and Dissertations Student Graduate Works 12-2002 Power Scaling Feasibility of Chromium-Doped II-VI Laser Sources and the Demonstration of a Chromium-Doped Zinc Selenide Face- Cooled Disk Laser Jason B. McKay Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.afit.edu/etd Part of the Plasma and Beam Physics Commons Recommended Citation McKay, Jason B., "Power Scaling Feasibility of Chromium-Doped II-VI Laser Sources and the Demonstration of a Chromium-Doped Zinc Selenide Face-Cooled Disk Laser" (2002). Theses and Dissertations. 4134. https://scholar.afit.edu/etd/4134 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Graduate Works at AFIT Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of AFIT Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Power Scaling Feasibility of Chromium-Doped II-VI Laser Sources and the Demonstration of a Chromium-Doped Zinc Selenide Face-Cooled Disk Laser DISSERTATION Jason B. McKay, Captain, USAF AFIT/DS/ENP/02-5 DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED. The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U. S. Government. AFIT/DS/ENP/02-5 POWER SCALING FEASIBILITY OF CHROMIUM-DOPED II-VI LASER SOURCES AND THE DEMONSTRATION OF A CHROMIUM-DOPED ZINC SELENIDE FACE- COOLED DISK LASER DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty Graduate School of Engineering and Management Air Force Institute of Technology Air University Air Education and Training Command In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Jason B. McKay, M.S.E.E. Captain, United States Air Force March 2003 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED AFIT/DS/ENP/02-5 Power Scaling Feasibility of Chromium-Doped II-VI Laser Sources and the Demonstration of a Chromium-Doped Zinc Selenide Face-Cooled Disk Laser Jason B. McKay, M.S.E.E. Captain, United States Air Force Approved: ____________________________________________ ___________ Won B. Roh (Co-Chair) Date ____________________________________________ ___________ Kenneth L. Schepler (Co-Chair) Date ____________________________________________ ___________ Alan V. Lair (Dean’s Representative) Date ____________________________________________ ___________ Eric Magee(Member) Date Accepted: ___________________________________ ___________ Robert A. Calico, Jr. Date Dean, Graduate School of Engineering And Management Acknowledgements I thank my research sponsor, and mentor, Dr. Kenneth Schepler, for his guidance, optimism, and timely moral and fiscal support over the course of this research, where the old saying “If you’re not breaking anything, you’re not working” was proven only too true. Many diode lasers died, so the chromium laser might live. I also thank Dave Mohler, the master designer and machinist who helped turn my optical system ideas into reality, despite predictions that “it would never work.” Finally, I am indebted to Dr. Won Roh, my faculty advisor, for his keen insight, focus on the big picture of which I needed occasional reminding, and rapier wit that was most entertaining, as long as it was not directed at me. iv Table of Contents Page Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................v List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables .................................................................................................................................xii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ xiii 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Problem Statement .......................................................................................................... 1-2 1.3 Research Objective......................................................................................................... 1-3 1.4 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 1-4 2 Background Research.......................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Properties of Cr2+:II-VI Materials ................................................................................... 2-1 2.1.1 Methods of Cr2+:II-VI Materials Growth ............................................................... 2-1 2.1.2 Cr2+ Energy Level Structure................................................................................... 2-2 2.1.3 Properties of the Cr2+ Laser Transition................................................................... 2-4 2.1.4 Thermo-Mechanical Properties.............................................................................. 2-6 2.1.5 Summary ................................................................................................................ 2-9 2.2 Laser Modeling............................................................................................................... 2-9 2.2.1 Cr2+ Laser Rate Equations .................................................................................... 2-10 2.2.2 Laser Dynamics Model ........................................................................................ 2-15 2.2.3 Analysis of Laser Stability and Mode Overlap .................................................... 2-21 2.3 Power Scaling feasiblity of the Cr2+:II-VI Laser........................................................... 2-25 2.3.1 Cr2+ Power Scaling in the Literature .................................................................... 2-26 2.3.2 Cr2+:II-VI Power Scaling Issues ........................................................................... 2-27 2.3.3 Resonator Designs for Power Scaling .................................................................. 2-29 v 2.3.4 Summary of Cr2+ Laser Power Scaling Feasibilty................................................ 2-33 3 Material Characterization.................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Determination of Maximum Cr2+ Doping Level............................................................. 3-1 3.2 Temperature Dependence of Excited State Lifetime ...................................................... 3-8 3.3 Cr2+ Stimulated Emission Cross Section Measurements............................................... 3-11 3.4 Estimated Thermal Load............................................................................................... 3-13 3.5 Bandwidth Measurement of Cr2+:CdSe Optical Gain ................................................... 3-16 3.6 Summary of Material Characterization......................................................................... 3-19 4 Final Cr2+ Laser Design....................................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Design Decisions Forced by Limited Pump Power ........................................................ 4-1 4.2 Estimated Laser Efficiency and Maximum Output Power.............................................. 4-2 4.3 Cavity Design for Stability and Mode Overlap............................................................... 4-3 4.4 Summary of Cr2+ Laser Design for Power Scaling Experiments .................................. 4-10 5 Pump Source Design and Performance ............................................................................... 5-1 5.1 Pump Laser Design......................................................................................................... 5-1 5.2 Pump Laser Performance ................................................................................................ 5-4 5.3 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 5-7 6 Cr2+:ZnSe Disk Laser Experiments ..................................................................................... 6-1 6.1 Disk Laser Design...........................................................................................................6-1 6.2 Laser Disks...................................................................................................................... 6-2 6.3 8-Pass Power Handling Experiment................................................................................ 6-6 6.4 16-Pass Power Handling Experiment............................................................................ 6-11 6.4.1 Description of 16-pass Pumping System.............................................................. 6-12 6.4.2 Laser Experiment................................................................................................. 6-18 6.5 Mode-Coupling Experiment..........................................................................................6-22
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