We describe optical limiters for nanosecond pulses based on a new cascaded-focus geometry. Nonlinear materials in the second focal plane provide low-energy limiting, while the nonlinear liquid CS2 placed in the first focal plane provides a higher energy limiting threshold, to protect the material in the second focal plane from damage. The element in the second focal plane may be a reverse saturable absorber or a carbon black suspension (CBS) which exhibits nonlinear scattering. Using CBS, the limiter has a broad wavelength response, and clamps the maximum encircled output energy below 1 μJ for nanosecond and even longer pulses. The measured figure of merit of the device is approximately 20,000.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
Hollins
R. C
, SPIE
3282
, 2
–8
(1998
).3.
Mansour
K.
, Van Stryland
E. W.
, and Soileau
M. J.
, SPIE
, 1105
(1989
).4.
Sun
X.
, Yu
R. Q.
, Xu
G. Q.
, Hor
T. S. A.
, and Ji
W.
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
73
, 3632
(1998
).5.
Dovgalenko
G. E.
, Klotz
M.
, Salamo
G.
, and Wood
G. L.
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
68
, 287
(1996
).6.
7.
Bredas
J. L.
, Kogej
T.
, Belgonne
D.
, and Marder
S. R.
, Nonlinear Optics
298
, 1
(1999
).8.
He
G. S.
, Bhawalkar
J. D.
, Prasad
P. N.
, Reinhard
B. A.
, Opt. Lett.
20
, 1524
(1995
).9.
Xia
T.
, Hagan
D. J.
, Dogariu
A.
, Said
A. A.
, and Van Stryland
E. W.
, Appl. Opt.
36
, 4110
(1997
).10.
Giuliano
C. R
. and Hess
L. D.
, IEEE J. Quant. Electron.
QE-3
, 358
(1967
).11.
Ji
W.
, Du
J.
, Tang
S. H.
, Shi
S.
, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B
12
, 876
(1995
).12.
Said
A. A.
, Xia
T.
, Hagan
D. J.
, Wajsgrus
A.
, Yang
S.
, Kovsh
D.
and Van Stryland
E. W.
, Conf. on Nonlinear Optical Liquids, Proc, SPIE-2853
, (1996
).13.
Perry
J. W.
, Mansour
K.
, Lee
J. Y. S.
, Xu
X. L.
, Bedwhorth
P. V.
, Chen
C. T.
, Ng
D.
, Marder
S. R.
, Miles
P.
, Wada
T.
, Tian
M.
, and Sasabe
H.
, Science
273
, 1533
(1996
).14.
McEwan
K. J.
, Robertson
J. M.
, Anderson
H. L.
, MRS Symposium Proceedings Series
, 479
(1997
).15.
Said
A. A.
, Xia
T.
, Dogariu
A.
, Hagan
D. J.
, Solieau
M. J.
, Van Stryland
E. W.
, and Mohebi
M.
, Applied Optics
34
, 3374
(1995
).16.
Miles
P.
, Appl. Opt.
33
, 6965
(1994
).17.
Hernandez
F. E.
, Yang
S.
, Optics Letters
25
, 1180
(2000
).18.
Hernandez
F.E.
, Yang
S.
, Dubikovskiy
V.
, Shensky
W.
III, Van Stryland
E. W.
, and Hagan
D. J.
, J.. Nonlinear Opt. Phys. Mat.
9
, 423
(2000
).19.
Boyd
R. W.
, “Nonlinear Optics”, Academic Press
, eds. (San Diego, CA
, 1992
), Ch. 4 and 8.20.
Nashold
K. M.
, Brown
R. A.
, Walter
D. P.
, and Honey
R. C.
, SPIE
1105
, 78
(1989
).21.
Mansour
K.
, Solieau
M. J.
, and Van Stryland
E. W.
, SPIE
1105
, 591
(1991
).22.
Lawson
C. M.
, Euliss
G. W.
, and R.R.
Michael
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
58
, 2195
(1991
).23.
Durand
O.
, Grolier-Mazza
V.
, and Frey
R.
, JOSA B
16
, 1431
(1999
).24.
Hernandez
F.E.
, Shensky
W.
III, Cohanoschi
I.
, Hagan
D. J.
, and Van Stryland
E. W.
, Applied Optics
(submitted to Applied Optics-LP, 2001
).
This content is only available via PDF.
© 2001 Laser Institute of America.
2001
Laser Institute of America
You do not currently have access to this content.