High-Brightness 100 Hz/363 mJ Picosecond Nd:YAG Laser System for Ultra-Remote Laser Ranging

A high pulse energy and high beam quality Nd:YAG laser system with extremely high brightness of 105 PW/sr $\cdot $ cm ² is reported. The system is based on a master oscillator power amplifier scheme containing a Nd:YVO ₄ mode-locked oscillator, laser diode end-pumped Nd:YAG regenerative amplifier, Ø6.35-mm double-pass amplifier, and two Ø15-mm double-pass amplifiers. Laser pulses with energy of 363 mJ and pulse duration of 63 ps were obtained at a repetition rate of 100 Hz, corresponding to a peak power of ~5.76 GW. A near-Gaussian beam with $M^{2} < 2.2$ and a narrow bandwidth with 0.17 nm were achieved, which make this laser system an attractive light source for ultra-remote laser ranging.