Spectral Energies, LLC introduces the QuasiModo™ Laser System – the first commercially available high energy, high repetition-rate burst-mode laser system with up to 100 ms long burst duration and up to 400 J per burst at 1064 nm with individual pulse energy up to 1 J. The QuasiModo™ laser is an all diode-pumped master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) design and utilizes an all-fiber oscillator and diode-pumped power amplifier based on RBA and REA modules custom designed by Northrop Grumman Cutting Edge Optronics. The QuasiModo™ laser system is unique in its capability to deliver tunable repetition rates within the burst from a single pulse to 1 MHz and flexible pulse durations ranging from 100 ps to as long as 100 ms. This laser system is designed for use in understanding the science and aiding the modeling of phenomena such as unsteady combustion, hypersonic boundary layers, shock heating, plasmas, and energetic reactions.
The high pulse energy delivered by the QuasiModo™ laser system at multi-kHz repetition rates is imperative for simultaneous measurements of key performance parameters in multi-dimensional space using such diagnostic techniques as Raman scattering, Rayleigh scattering, laser-induced incandescence, and planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF). While continuously pulsed diode-pumped solid-state lasers used for this purpose have improved significantly they are still limited to about 1 kW average power at 1064 nm (100 mJ/pulse at 10 kHz) . On the contrary, burst-mode laser systems achieve high pulse energy (1000’s of mJ’s) in combination with high repetition rate operation (1–1000 kHz) by grouping a series of 100 or more closely spaced pulses into short bursts, thus enabling high pulse energy and high repetition rates with low average system power. Among pulse-burst laser systems the all diode-pumped QuasiModo™ series is unique by its ability to extend to 100 ms burst durations, whereas flashlamp-pumped systems are limited to about 10 ms.
According to Sukesh Roy (CEO) and Mikhail Slipchenko (Research Scientist) of Spectral Energies, LLC, Northrop Grumman Cutting Edge Optronics played a crucial role in the development of the QuasiModo™ laser system by designing custom PowerPULSE™ diode-pumped laser amplifier modules and laser diode drive electronics that can operate with 100 ms diode pulse durations. The power amplifier consists of a total of six diode-pumped modules with laser rod sizes of 2.8 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm. These diode-pumped modules are key components which provide better than 1% burst-to-burst stability and better than 2% pulse-to-pulse stability within the burst. The long burst duration of the QuasiModo™ burst-mode laser system renders this architecture as an alternative for continuously pulsed lasers in flow diagnostics.
Related publications:
- N. Slipchenko, J. D. Miller, S. Roy, T. R. Meyer, J. G. Mance, and J. R. Gord, “100-kHz, 100-ms, 400-J burst-mode laser with dual-wavelength diode-pumped amplifiers,” Optics Letter, 39(16), 4735-4738, (2014).
- Roy, J. D. Miller, M. N. Slipchenko, P. S. Hsu, J. G. Mance, T. R. Meyer, and J. R. Gord, “100-ps-Pulse-Duration, 100-Joule Burst-Mode Laser for kHz–MHz Flow Diagnostics,” Optics Letter, 39(22), 6462-6465, (2014).
- N. Slipchenko, J. D. Miller, S. Roy, J. R. Gord, and T. R. Meyer, “All-diode-pumped quasi-continuous burst-mode laser for extended high-speed planar imaging”, Optics Express, 21(1), 681-689, (2013).
- Optics & Photonics News, Online News, “Burst-Mode Laser Captures Combustion Details”, May 2012.
- M. N. Slipchenko, J. D. Miller, S. Roy, J. R. Gord, S. A. Danczyk, and T. R. Meyer, “Quasi-Continuous Burst-Mode Laser for High-Speed Planar Imaging”, Optics Letters, 37(8), 1346-1348 (2012).
Approved for Public Release 15-1352
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