A new generation of diode-pumped solid-state lasers has been developed that enables ultra-stable Ti:Sapphire pumping at high energies. We report an injection-seeded, all diode-pumped high-energy Nd:YLF laser system based on a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) configuration. The laser produces pulses with over 4 J of pulse energy at 10 Hz, 527 nm, and pulse duration of ~13 ns. The laser is specifically designed to produce a uniform, flat-top beam in the near field.

Details of the laser design are discussed. The master oscillator is an injection seeded electro-optical Q-switched TEM₀₀ mode laser. It produces stable, temporally-smooth laser pulses as the source for the system. The uniformity of the flat top beam is discussed. The pulse energy stability and beam pointing stability are thoroughly investigated and reported. The lifetime test results for the pump diodes are also presented.

Ti:sapphire lasers have become prominent in the field of ultrafast oscillators and amplifiers due to their broad emission bandwidth and the ability to minimize opto-thermal effects over a wide range of operating parameters. In order to build high-average-power Ti:sapphire lasers, high-quality high-average-power green pump lasers are required.

The performance of CEO pump lasers is examined in this work, particularly the 50 mJ Patara™-HP50 YLF and 200 W Patara-HP200 YAG lasers. Analysis of pulse energy performance over repetition rate is presented, as is a summary of the beam quality, optical pulse, and long-term power stability. A discussion of reliability is also included.