High-Efficiency 2.3-2.5 μm Electronically Tuned Narrow-Line Laser System for Remote Sensing in Earth's Atmosphere Window

A high-efficiency widely-tunable laser system based on homemade polycrystalline Cr
²⁺
:ZnSe pumped by repetitively-pulsed Ho
³⁺
:YAG lasers was created. The system consisted of a narrow-line tunable Cr
²⁺
:ZnSe master oscillator and power amplifier with a variable pulse repetition rate between 10 and 40 kHz. The electronic wavelength tuning at 2.3-2.5 μm was provided by an intracavity acousto-optic filter. The average power and pulse-train energy of the high-quality laser beam at 2420 nm were 8–9 W and 80 mJ, respectively. These values were achieved in a pulse burst with a repetition rate of 10–2000 Hz. The laser system was designed for the purpose of environmental monitoring within the transparency window of the Earth's atmosphere.