67 mJ, 137 ns narrow bandwidth 355 nm UV laser

A high-efficiency, high-energy, narrow bandwidth, hundred-nanosecond pulse width 355 nm ultraviolet (UV) laser was realized. A high-energy single-frequency 1064 nm fundamental laser was demonstrated firstly with multistage end-pumped preamplifiers and side-pumped main amplifiers. The corresponding pulse energy, repetition rate, pulse duration, bandwidth, and beam quality factor M-2 were determined tobe 221 mJ, 100 Hz, 156 ns, 2.25 MHz, and 1.23, respectively. By using type-I phase-matching LBO crystal for second harmonic generation (SHG) and type-II phase-matching LBO crystal for the sum frequency generation of the third harmonic, 67 mJ, a narrow bandwidth 355 nm UV laser was obtained with a pulse width of 137 ns and an energy stability of RMS < 1.2%@2 h. The fundamental to UV optical conversion efficiency was 30.3%. Our results provided a new way for generating high-energy, narrow bandwidth hundred-nanosecond 355 nm UV lasers used for direct-detection Doppler wind lidar (DWL) system.(c) 2023 Optica Publishing Group