A four-pass grating stretcher is constructed to stretch a picosecond pulse from an additive-pulse modelocked Nd:YLF laser. The APM Nd:YLF laser pulse have 1.8 ps duration and can be stretched to 160 ps duration by the pulse stretcher. The pulse width is measured using an autocorrelator and a sampling oscilloscope.
The small signal gain coefficient of Nd:glass rod is measured by consisting a stable resonator. The measured small signal gain coefficient is 0.088/cm when the pumping energy is 100 J and the round-trip loss of resonator is 56%. A cavity-dumped Nd:glass laser is constructed and its characteristics are investigated. This laser can produce a pulse of 8-ns duration and 0.85 J energy at 140 J pumping energy.
