EFFICIENT FIRST STOKES GENERATION USING A BRILLOUIN RESONATOR COUPLEDWITH A RAMAN HALF RESONATOR

We report an efficient Raman laser system which utilizes stimulated Br illouin scattering as a dual-cavity resonator mirror for fundamental a nd Raman waves. A Raman laser at the eye-safe wavelength of 1.54 mu m is generated in high pressure CH4 gas from a passively Q-switched Nd:Y AG laser. Employing a meniscus lens with an optimized reflectance of 1 0% at the fundamental wavelength, a maximum Raman energy of 33 mJ with a residual fundamental energy of 20 mJ has been obtained, where the p ressure of CH4 gas is 800 psi.