Single-frequency tunable pulsed thin disk laser for drop tower applications

The combination of laser diagnostics and short term microgravity (/spl mu/g) conditions has become an important tool for the investigation of combustion processes. In this paper, a pulsed Yb:YAG laser tunable around 1030 nm is designed for autonomous operation under microgravity conditions. A pulse energy of 21 mJ at 1 kHz and a pulse duration of 20 ns is demonstrated.