title: Self-starting Ti:sapphire holographic laser oscillator.
abstract: We demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, operation of a holographic laser oscillator that uses laser-pumped Ti:sapphire (Ti(3+) : Al(2)O(3)) as the gain medium. The device is self-starting and self-adaptive by virtue of spontaneous gain-grating formation. We present experimental results of the system that include gain-switched pulses of 25-60-ns duration in a TEM(00) mode and as much as 11 mJ of output energy from a plane output coupler and 47 mJ from an intracavity polarizer port.
authors.affiliation: The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minassian
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Crofts
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Damzen