Injection mode-locked guide star laser concept and design verification experiments

Abstract

Injection mode-locking combined with stretched Q-switching of a ring resonator are proposed and demonstrated as a promising approach for advanced, guide star lasers. The concept uses two Nd:YAG lasers, producing a macro-micro pulse-burst output, optimized for efficient sum-frequency generation. We demonstrate wavelength, bandwidth and timing control required to maximize the atmospheric Na fluorescence.