Abstract

In the past solid state regenerative amplifiers, such as those based on Nd³⁺:YAG and Nd³⁺:YLF, have been limited to frequencies of approximately 1 kHz.^1,2 This limitation is caused by the piezoelectrically-induced acoustic transients that propagate in the intracavity Pockels cell used for pulse switching. These acoustic pulses modify the crystal birefringence through the elasto-optic effect and result in significant cavity losses. These effects have been studied in detail both experimentally^3,4 and theoretically.⁵

© 1991 Optical Society of America