Picosecond Nd:YAG regenerative amplifier with acoustooptic injection and electrooptic VFET pulse switchout

A system is described for amplification of low-power 80-ps pulses from a CW mode-locked YAG laser to greater than 10-MW peak power at kilohertz repetition rates. It is shown how to optimize the resonator for high-power operation and avoidance of optical damage. A novel method of injection locking which uses an acoustooptic modulator is presented. Reliable pulse switching and cavity dumping are accomplished with a high-voltage driver using VFETs.<>