Mercury laser

The Mercury laser is a high-average-power laser system developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a prototype for systems to drive inertial confinement fusion. Like the National Ignition Facility, it is intended to produce narrow pulses of extremely high power, using diode-pumped solid-state lasers. Unlike the NIF system, the Mercury laser aims to achieve a high repetition rate: its goals are 10 pulses per second, each delivering 100 J with a 10% efficient conversion of electricity to laser light.

The active gain medium is Yb:SFAP (Ytterbium-doped strontium fluorapatite, Sr₅(PO₄)₃F), which is cooled by fast-flowing helium to allow high repetition rates. Infrared light at 900 nm from 8 arrays of laser diodes pumps the laser.

References

• "Mercury: A Diode-Pumped Solid-State Laser".

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Solid-state lasers

Distinct subtypes

Semiconductor laser

Yttrium aluminium garnet

• Nd:YAG laser
• Er:YAG laser
• Nd:Cr:YAG
• Yb:YAG
• Nd:Ce:YAG
• Ho:YAG
• Dy:YAG
• Sm:YAG
• Tb:YAG
• Ce:YAG
• Ce:Gd:YAG
• Gd:YAG

Glass

• Nd:glass
• Ytterbium glass
• Er:Yb:Glass

Other gain media

• Ruby laser
• Yttrium iron garnet (YIG)
• Terbium gallium garnet (TGG)
• Ti:sapphire laser
• Solid-state dye laser (SSDL/SSOL/SSDPL)
• Yttrium lithium fluoride (YLF)
  • Neodymium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride (Nd:YLF)
• Yttrium orthovanadate (YVO₄)
  • Neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate (Nd:YVO₄)
• Yttrium calcium oxoborate (YCOB)
  • Nd:YCOB laser
• Ce:LiSAF
• Ce:LiCAF
• Cr:ZnSe
• U:CaF₂
• Sm:CaF₂
• Yb:SFAP

Structures

• Diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL)
• Fiber laser
• Figure-8 laser
• Disk laser
• F-center laser

Specific lasers

• Trident laser
• ZEUS-HLONS (HMMWV Laser Ordnance Neutralization System)
• Nova (laser)
• Cyclops laser
• Janus laser
• Argus laser
• Shiva laser
• HiPER
• Laboratory for Laser Energetics
• Laser Mégajoule
• LULI2000
• Mercury laser
• ISKRA-6
• Vulcan laser