[en] To meet our objective of constructing a 5- to 10-MJ, short-wavelength laser for $200 to 300 million (overnight construction cost), the authors must reduce the recurring costs of the laser hardware by at least tenfold, compared to those costs for the Nova laser project. In addition, they plan to use man-power (design and assembly), diagnostics, and target-system costs that are similar to those on Nova. The cost breakdown of the Nova project and a proposed breakdown for a conceptual multipass system that they invented in 1984 are shown. To meet the cost objectives, they have instituted research programs to reduce costs in all areas of technical activity. They have made considerable progress in these areas

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[en] Published in summary form only

[en] We propose a theoretical model (cavityless pulsed solid-state-laser theory) to analyze the pulse characteristics of cavity-less solid-state lasers. A high gain Nd:YVO ₄ end-pumped cavityless laser system is adopted to verify the theoretical model. It shows that the performance of output energy and pulse width achieved in cavityless configuration is better than that in resonator configuration when the small-signal gain reaches the saturated level. The simulation results calculated by our theoretical model agree very well with the experimental results. This agreement proves the validity of our theoretical model, which has great importance for theoretical analyses of high gain pulsed laser. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

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[en] After a short review of the tendency in the high power laser pulses and the limitations due to self-damage and nonlinear energy saturation effects in solid state amplifying media, the general equations of the two level laser amplifier, in the electric dipole transition approximation, are presented. The generalization in the three level approximation takes into account the lifetime of the lower laser level, for the four level laser media. (author)

[en] We report on the continuous-wave and tunable laser operation of transparent 10 at% Yb:Y₃Sc_1.5Al_3.5O₁₂ (Yb:YSAG) ceramics, which have a dense and homogenous microstructure after being sintered at 1820 °C for 10 h. The Yb:YSAG ceramics have excellent optical in-line transmittance characteristics. The broad absorption and emission spectra of Yb:YSAG demonstrated that these ceramics are suitable for laser-diode pumping solid-state lasers. For the 2-mm thick ceramic, a continuous-wave output power of 1.79 W at 1031 nm was measured with a slope efficiency of 18.3%, and a smooth tunable spectra ranging from 1021 nm to 1040 nm has been obtained, with a tunable wavelength exceeding approximately 19 nm. (paper)

[en] The solid laser makes use of a silicate, phosphate, borate or fluoride glass or a glass of methylmethacrylate as host material. The transfer of the excitation energy takes place from the Yb ions to Er ions as activator ions. The host material contains Er₂O₃ in the region of 0.001 to 20 wt.% and Yb₂O₃ in the range 0.1 to 60 wt.%. Nd can be additionally taken as tervalent ion. Erbium chelate is dissolved in the organic host material. (HP)