Plasma Pockels cell (PPC), which can use a thin crystal to perform the uniform electro-optical effect, is ideal component as average-power optical switch with large aperture. In this paper, by reformative design and employing a capacity to share the gas discharge voltage, the DKDP PPC driven by one pulse is realized. As gas breakdown delay time is stable, and discharge plasma is uniformly filled the full aperture, it meets the demand of plasma electrode for the repetition-rate PPC with DKDP crystal. A rep-rate plasma Pockels cell (PPC) with Φ30mm aperture has been fabricated. It is optimized with the limited space of repetition rate diode pumped laser. The specification of the PPC is: static transition of 97.2%, switching efficiency of 99.8%, the switch rising time of 8.6ns. In the LD pumped Yb:YAG plate laser system, the PPC can steadily work on 10Hz repetition rate performed as Q-switch. The key problems in PPC are analyzed for repetition-rate application, and thermo-optical effects are simulated by means of numerical modeling when average power laser is loaded on the electro-optical crystal. Furthermore, the principium design of rep-rate PPC with longitudinally conductive cooled structure is described in this paper. It will efficiently abate the thermo-optical effects under repetition rate application.

Date Published: 18 February 2011
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 7916, High Power Lasers for Fusion Research, 79160X (18 February 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.876549

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7916:
High Power Lasers for Fusion Research
Abdul A. S. Awwal; A. Mike Dunne; Hiroshi Azechi; Brian E. Kruschwitz, Editor(s)