Rapidly tunable pulsed CO2 laser based on Acoustic-optic Modulator

A rapidly tunable pulsed CO2 laser intended for use in DIAL lidar system has been developed. For achievement of short tuning time, the system of laser based on two oppositely placed Acoustic-optic Modulators has been created. In this laser system, a fixed reflector and a rotating grating were used as rear mirrors of two oscillation paths to select wavelengths, and two AOMs were served as a switcher between two paths. Under the control of time sequence of two AOMs, two wavelengths emitted from different oscillation paths with time interval of 1 ms were obtained from the single output mirror of CO2 laser, and the pulse duration was 220 ns and 280 ns for two paths, respectively.