A highly efficient, diode-pumped, Nd:YAG laser is described. The oscillator utilizes an unstable resonator design with a Gaussian reflectivity output coupler and a side-pumped zigzag slab gain medium. The laser produces 18-mJ, 10-ns pulses at a repetition rate of 242 Hz in a near-TEM00 mode with an optical efficiency of up to 14%. An extended performance test was recently concluded in which the transmitter operated at reduced output for more than 4.8 x 10(9) shots with no optical damage. Design criteria, beam quality, and lifetime data are presented.
We report on the status of the High Output Maximum Efficiency Resonator (HOMER), a prototype space-flight Nd:YAG, diode pumped, unstable resonator. HOMER, the 3 rd generation of this design based on the High Efficiency Laser Transmitter, is a stand-alone oscillator that has achieved ~ 2 billion 10 ns q-switched pulses at 17-15 mJ. In this configuration HOMER achieves an excellent optical efficiency of ~16%. It is currently the lead candidate for the Biomass Monitoring Mission (BioMM); a global vegetation instrument currently under design and preproposal at NASA-GSFC.
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