Solid YAG Etalons

AMS item number: SW11169

Undoped YAG; 250-4000 nm; Finesse ~1, Dependent on Wavelength; FSR ~0.8-3300 GHz, Dependent on... more

Product information "Solid YAG Etalons"

Undoped YAG; 250-4000 nm; Finesse ~1, Dependent on Wavelength; FSR ~0.8-3300 GHz, Dependent on Wavelength; Thickness 0.025-98.0 mm; Uncoated; Dia. 5, 12.7 mm; Clear Aperture Dia. 3, 10 mm

LightMachinery’s series of solid YAG etalons are high-index components manufactured using the company’s patented fluid jet polishing (FJP) technology – allowing the adjustment of the etalon’s shape and flatness to within a few nanometers.

Solid YAG etalons are handy because the high index of YAG material (about 1.8 depending on wavelength) creates a reasonably high finesse without any coating; this makes "yagalons" excellent for mode selection in high-power solid state lasers. The additional advantage of YAG is excellent transmission in a wide range of wavelengths (250 nm to 4 µm).

These etalons are available in two standard sizes with diameters of 5 and 12.7 mm respectively. Thicknesses range from 25 µ to 1 mm for the smaller and from 0.05 to 98.0 mm for the larger size. Dedicated 12.7 or 25.4 mm diameter aluminium mounts designed to hold the 5 mm diameter etalons are available as well as dedicated 25.4 mm diameter aluminium mounts designed to hold the 12.7 mm diameter etalons – prices for these mounts include cementing of the etalon to the mount at the supplier.

Etalons are optically transparent, flat components with very precisely parallel reflecting surfaces. For high performance (i.e. resolution), these components require very high-quality, flat and level surfaces with low roughness and extreme parallelism. Solid YAG etalons are comparatively simple, robust, yet very parallel optical components with a wide variety of applications in lasers and spectroscopy.

Although solid etalons are generally coated to increase the finesse of the etalon, uncoated solid etalons like this series – using only the 4% fresnel reflection to provide the etalon effect – are often used inside laser cavities since only low finesse is required to filter out unwanted laser wavelengths, and uncoated etalons are very damage resistant.

One major issue with solid etalons is their instability to temperature changes (both the index and the physical thickness of the etalon material change with temperature), which can be unacceptable in certain applications. In those cases, please refer to air spaced etalons that reduce this problem of temperature dependence by using air as the etalon medium. In certain applications though, the temperature dependence can also be a useful method for tuning the transmission peak position since it effectively changes the thickness of the etalon.

Sometimes you need something special – if you are looking for a customized solid YAG etalon that exactly meets your specific requirements, please get in touch with the AMS Technologies etalon experts. Our supplier LightMachinery is extremely experienced with specifying, designing and manufacturing custom etalons using the company’s patented fluid jet polishing (FJP) technology. We are looking forward to discussing your customized etalon solution!

Fluid jet polishing (FJP) systems use a fine stream of slurry to accurately remove nanometers of material from an optical surface. Many years of refining this computer controlled polishing technology have enabled LightMachinery to use FJP for the adjustment of the shape and flatness of optical components such as etalon mirrors to within a few nanometers as well as the production of very thin components such as wafers and thin etalons that are impossible to accurately polish using conventional technology.

Key Features:

Etalon Material: Undoped YAG
Wavelength Range: 250 to 4000 nm
Finesse: ~1, Dependent on Wavelength
Free Spectral Range, FSR: ~0.8 to 3300 GHz (Based on Index 1.82), Dependent on Wavelength
Uncoated
Diameter: 5.0, 12.7 mm (1/2")
Thickness: 0.025 to 98.0 mm
Dedicated 12.7 or 25.4 mm Diameter Aluminium Mounts Available – Price Includes Cementing of the Etalon to the Mount at the Supplier
Clear Aperture: Diameter 3, 10 mm (85% of Outside Dimension)
Surface Figure: λ/50
Surface Quality: 10/5 or Better
Wedge: <1 arcsec Typical

Applications: Mode Selection in High-power Solid State Lasers; Spectroscopy; Interferometers; Wavelength Measurement; Fine-structural Investigation of Spectral Lines

Product Group:

Solid YAG Etalons

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