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Contributions to Proceedings:

F. Bammer, T. Schumi, R. Petkovsek:
"A new material for Single Crystal Modulators: BBO";
in: "Diode-Pumped High Energy and High Power Lasers", SPIE, 2011, ISBN: 9780819486707, 80800H-1 - 80800H-6.



English abstract:
Single crystal photo-elastic modulators (SCPEM) are based on a single piezo-electric crystal which is electrically excited on a resonance frequency such that the resulting resonant oscillation causes a modulated artificial birefringence due to the photo-elastic effect. Polarized light experience in such a crystal a strong modulation of polarization, which, in connection with a polarizer, can be used for Q-switching of lasers with pulse repetition frequencies in the range of 100-1000 kHz. A particularly advantageous configuration is possible with crystals from the symmetry class 3m. Besides LiTaO3 and LiNbO3, both already well explored as SCPEM-materials, we introduce now BBO, which offers a very low absorption in the near infrared region and is therefore particularly suited for Q-switching of solid state lasers. We demonstrate first results of such a BBO-modulator with the dimensions 8.6 x 4.05 x 4.5mm in x-, y-, z- direction, which offers a useful resonance and polarization modulation at 131.9 kHz. Since the piezo-electric effect is small, the voltage amplitude for achieving Q-switching for an Nd:YAG-laser is expected to be in the range of 100V. Nevertheless it is a simple and robust device to achieve Q-switching with a high fixed repetition rate for high power solid state lasers.

German abstract:
Photo-Elastischer Einkristallmodulator aus BBO

Keywords:
BBO, Photo-Elastic Modulator, Q-switching

Created from the Publication Database of the Vienna University of Technology.