title: High-frequency acousto-optic mode locker for picosecond pulse generation.
abstract: We modeled, designed, and built a 500-MHz acousto-optic mode locker with a diffraction efficiency of 28% per 1 W drive power. The transducer is zinc oxide sputtered onto a sapphire substrate. A new figure of merit is defined for the mode-locker design, which indicates that sapphire is a good substrate material. Pulse widths of less than 10 psec with an average power of 150 mW were achieved from a 500-MHz pulse-rate, diode-pumped, cw mode-locked Nd:YLF laser using a pump power of 700 mW.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Khuri-Yakub
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bloom
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Weingarten
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Gerstenberger