Pulse Pickers, Cavity Dumpers

AMS item number: SW11465

Type IR; Wavelength 1030 - 1064 nm; Rise / Fall Time 113 ns/mm; Active Aperture 2-2.5 mm;... more

Product information "Pulse Pickers, Cavity Dumpers"

Type IR; Wavelength 1030 - 1064 nm; Rise / Fall Time 113 ns/mm; Active Aperture 2-2.5 mm; Operating Frequency 40.68-80 MHz; Optical Material Crystalline Quartz

Pulse pickers and cavity dumpers are high speed acousto-optic modulators that can separate and divert a single laser pulse within a pulse train to a new optical path. Both require a very fast rise time with a low duty cycle.

With rise/fall times as short as 4 ns and a variety of materials at our disposal, Gooch & Housego (G&H) can create a complete solution to select individual laser pulses with speed and synchronization.
A cavity dumper refers to an acousto-optic modulator used inside the cavity of an argon, dye, or Ti:Sapphire mode locked laser. A pulse picker describes the same function when used externally. Both use high-speed acousto-optic crystal and design techniques to keep rise time to a minimum. Similar to a fast modulator, tight focusing of the beam within the device is required to achieve the desired speed (typically rise time is the primary selection criteria when selecting a single pulse from a pulsed laser). The series manufactured by Gooch & Housego offer material options in fused silica, tellurium dioxide (TeO2) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) to achieve rise times of < 7 ns for wavelengths from the near-UV (350 nm) to the near infrared (1550 nm).

The high manufacturing standards and rigorous adherence to quality of AO materials reduce scatter and result in industry-leading optical power handling. Where applicable, antireflection coatings minimize insertion loss.

By using a high RF carrier frequency and an optimized lens design, large angular separation between the undeflected and deflected beams (up to 75 mrad) can be provided. This makes it easy to separate the two beams in space and maintain a static contrast ratio of at least 500:1.

Applications: Generation of High Energy Pulses; Injection and Extraction of Pulses from Regenerative Amplifiers; Femtosecond/Picosecond Lasers; Reduction of Pulse Repetition Rates

Series	Type	Wavelength	Rise / Fall Time	Active Aperture	Operating Frequency	Optical Material	Downloads
I-M041-2.5C10G-4-GH50 AOM	IR	1030 - 1064 nm	113 ns/mm	2.5 mm	40.68 MHz	Crystalline Quartz	Datasheet	Driver
I-M080-2C10G-4-AM3 AOM	IR	1030 - 1064 nm	113 ns/mm	2 mm	80 MHz	Crystalline Quartz	Datasheet	Driver