Spatial, temporal, and spectral characteristics of radiation emitted by a Q-switched YAG:Nd laser

An investigation was made of the fine structure of the intensity and spectrum of giant pulses emitted by a YAG:Nd laser. These ultrashort pulses were recorded using an image-converter streak camera with a resolution of at least 25 psec. In general, a "domain" spatial-temporal structure was observed in the radiation and it corresponded to a partial locking of the longitudinal and transverse modes. Special cases of the transverse or longitudinal mode selection were investigated. A fine structure of this kind should be allowed for in estimating the optical strength of the resonator elements and in nonlinear conversion processes.