Mode-locking of a Nd-YAG laser

Theoretical considerations concerning mode-locking (a means for generating very short laser pulses) are given and two ways in which a Nd-YAG laser can be mode-locked are described. The first method gives pulses with a small amount of energy and has the additional disadvantage of being irreproducible. Mode-locking by means of the saturable dye bis(4-dimethylaminodithiobenzil)nickel proved very successful. In this case pulses with a peak power of about 75 MW and a pulse width of about 60 ps were generated. The design of a mode-locked laser that can be used as a light source for creating stimulated Raman scattering is presented.