Picosecond lasers with SRS and SBS pulse compression in the visible and near-IR regions

Based on earlier studies of the dynamics of stimulated scattering and properties of nonlinear optical media, compact picosecond lasers with high peak power (10⁷—10⁹ W) and high repetition rate (up to 1 kHz) have been developed and created. Their simple schemes and parameter stability over a wide temperature range provide the possibility of using these lasers in various fields of science and technology (material microprocessing, satellite ranging, remote sensing, etc.). O. V. Kulagin and colleagues have created an eye-safe solid-state Raman laser with the following parameters: output radiation wavelength 1.53 µm, output pulse duration less than 30 ps, pulse energy up to 50 mJ, and output pulse repetition rate of 100 Hz with near diffraction-limited output divergence. A distinctive feature of this laser is the use of conventional passive Q-switching to form pump pulses at 1.32 µm, followed by SBS and SRS-compression to move to the picosecond timescale. Field experiments have confirmed the efficiency of such a laser, and the possibility of millimeter accuracy ranging and tracking of moving targets over near-surface distances (more than 3 km long) in strong turbulence.