The discussion centers on the use of unstable resonant cavities in q-switching techniques for pulse output generation. Participants highlight the concept of cavity dumping, where an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is employed to control the stability of the cavity. This method allows for the prevention of lasing during the initial phase of pulse production, followed by enabling oscillation once sufficient population inversion is achieved in the gain medium. The conversation confirms that manipulating cavity stability is a viable approach to achieve pulsed laser output.
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Maybe the so-called cavity dumping best describes such alternating process.ppedro said:Does anyone know if there's any q-switching technique that makes use of an unstable resonant cavity (or some kind of switching of the cavity between stable and unstable) to achieve the pulse output?
What do you mean? Cavity dumping doesn't make use of the kind of mechanism that I was wondering about the possibility of existence. I was wondering if it is possible to control the resonant stability of the cavity to somehow reduce or event prevent lasing and then turn it on at some point to produce a pulsed output. Does this, or something similar to this, exist?blue_leaf77 said:Maybe the so-called cavity dumping best describes such alternating process.
That's how cavity-dumping works. In the first part of each pulse production stage, an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is switched on so that any light in the cavity is diffracted out of the cavity preventing lasing process. In this step, the cavity can effectively be said to be unstable. Then after sufficient population inversion is reached in the gain medium, the AOM is switched off to allow oscillation inside the cavity and hence extracting all energy previously stored in the gain medium.ppedro said:I was wondering if it is possible to control the resonant stability of the cavity to somehow reduce or event prevent lasing and then turn it on at some point to produce a pulsed output.