Use of an intracavity cell containing Cs2 for Q switching and stabilizing the frequency of a laser utilizing concentrated neodymium phosphate glass

It was demonstrated experimentally that when a cell containing molecular cesium was placed inside the resonator of a laser utilizing concentrated phosphate glass, passive Q switching resulted in the generation of either a single giant pulse, having a minimum duration of 3–5 ns, or a train of 3–7 pulses, having a minimum pulse duration of 1.5–3 ns. In the case of the single giant pulse, the spectral width of the laser pulses did not exceed 7 X 10³ cm ^– 1, whereas in the case of the train of giant pulses it was less than (1–1.5) X 10 ^– 2 cm ^– 1, i.e., the laser pulse durations were close to being bandwidth-limited. Frequency stabilization of the laser pulses was observed. Quasicontinuous tuning of the laser pulse frequency was realised in the range of 1.05–1.06 μm.