Passive Mode-Locking of Nd:YAG laser with Saturable Absorber

Passive mode-locking of a pulsed Nd:YAG laser is achieved with saturable absorbers, BDN dye in iodoethane solvent and Kodak Eastman # 26 dye in 1,2-dichloroethane solvent, and its optimum conditions are investigated. The thickness of saturable absorbers employed in the laser mode-locking is 0.16~0.50mm. The PBR (peak-to-background ratio) measured in the oscilloscope is 79.8% in Kodak Eastman # 26 dye at the neighbourhood of the peak power, whereas the passive mode-locking with BDN dye gives PBR of 67.7%. BDN and Kodak Eastman # 26 dyes are superior in photostability over Kodak eastman # 9860 and # 9740 dyes which were used previously in passive mode-locking. From the PBR curve, we find that Kodak Eastman # 26dye is more effective than BDN dye in passive mode-locking. The spacing between the adjacent pulses of the pulse train, which depends on the laser cavity length, is measured and is found to be 7 nsec for the cavity length of 100cm.