Formation of high-power pulses with steep leading edges in a laser system with passive nonlinear elements

An investigation was made of the change in the duration of light pulses as a result of their transmission through media whose transparency increased under the influence of the transmitted light. A nonmonotonic reduction in the duration of a transmitted pulse was observed when the optical load density was varied. A dependence was obtained of the region of maximum narrowing of a light pulse on the optical load applied tobleachable solutions of various concentrations. It was also found that a metallized film illuminated with intense light exhibited an anomalous increase in its transparency. The observed effects were used as the basis of recommendations for procedures to be adopted in the generation of short pulses with steep leading edges. A neodymium-glass laser system, developed in accordance with these recommendations, generated pulses of 20 GW power and of 5–7 nsec duration with ~1 nsec leading edges.