A 1.35 mJ ammonia Fabry–Perot cavity terahertz pulsed laser with metallic capacitive-mesh input and output couplers

• Published in: Optics and lasers in engineering Vol. 48; no. 9; pp. 888 - 892
• Main Authors: Qi, Chun-chao, Zuo, Du-luo, Lu, Yan-zhao, Miao, Liang, Yin, Jie, Cheng, Zu-hai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Ammonia; Beam characteristics: profile, intensity, and power; spatial pattern formation; Couplers; Exact sciences and technology; Fabry-Perot; Fabry–Perot cavity; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Gas lasers including excimer and metal-vapor lasers; Holes; Laser optical systems: design and operation; Lasers; Mathematical analysis; Optically pumped terahertz laser; Optics; Physics; Pulsed lasers; Pumps; TEA CO 2 laser; Terahertz radiation; Optically pumped terahertz laser; TEA CO 2 laser; Fabry–Perot cavity; Terahertz radiation; Beam profiles; Fabry-Perot cavity; Binary compounds; Optical pumping; Pulsed lasers; TEA lasers; Ammonia; Fabry-Perot resonators; THz range; II-VI semiconductors; laser; Nickel; Zinc Selenides; Gas lasers; TEA CO; Carbon dioxide lasers
• ISSN: 0143-8166; 1873-0302
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optlaseng.2010.03.018

An efficient ammonia Fabry–Perot (F–P) cavity terahertz (THz) laser has been studied experimentally in this article. The input and output couplers also served as sealed windows fabricated by depositing nickel capacitive metallic meshes on ZnSe and high-resistivity silicon substrates have been constructed as a F–P oscillator. Using the THz laser, the properties related to THz pulsed laser such as beam profile, delay, the minimum pump intensity, THz lasing threshold and THz atmospheric transmission have been investigated. Further, the factors such as pump intensity and gas pressure influencing the efficiency of THz laser have also been discussed. Finally, the highest output pulse energies of 1.35 mJ at 90 μ m operating at 1.09 kPa ammonia pressure pumped by a 402 mJ TEA CO 2 laser with 9R (16) line have been generated, and photon conversion efficiencies of 6.5% have been achieved.