RUGGEDIZED NARROW-LINEWIDTH DISPERSIVE DYE-LASER OSCILLATOR

A ruggedized flashlamp-pumped multiple-prism grating oscillator is shown to yield output energies in the 2-3 mJ range at linewidths close to 300 MHz. The measured beam divergence was less-than-or-equal-to 0.5 mrad. Wavelength stability was determined to be in the 4.63 x 10(-7)-1.45 x 10(-6) range. The dispersive oscillator was constructed of super-invar for thermal and mechanical stability. The mechanical integrity of this cavity was tested in the field using vehicular displacement on a rugged terrain. Laser linewidth and beam quality characteristics of the dispersive oscillator were not affected adversely by the field test.