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A high-energy, chirped laser system for optical Stark deceleration

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Abstract

We describe a high-energy, frequency chirped laser system designed for optical Stark deceleration of cold molecules. This system produces two, pulse amplified beams of up to 700 mJ with flat-top temporal profiles, whose frequency and intensity can be well controlled for durations from 20 ns–10 μs. The two beams are created by amplifying a single, rapidly tunable Nd:YVO4 microchip type laser at 1064 nm, which can be frequency chirped by up to 1 GHz over the duration of the pulse. Intensity modulation induced by relaxation oscillations in the microchip laser during the frequency chirp are virtually eliminated by injection locking a free running semiconductor diode laser before pulsed amplification.

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Correspondence to P. F. Barker.

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Coppendale, N., Wang, L., Douglas, P. et al. A high-energy, chirped laser system for optical Stark deceleration. Appl. Phys. B 104, 569–576 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-011-4599-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-011-4599-8

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