Frequency-stabilized mode-locked solid-state laser system for precision range-Doppler imaging

We report measurements which show that an actively stabilized cw mode-locked Nd:YLF laser, in combination with a flashlamp-pumped Nd:glass amplifier, can achieve better than 1 cm resolution of distant rotating targets using range-Doppler imaging. To do this, we have produced trains of 50 ps mode-locked pulses with less than 25 kHz peak-to-peak optical frequency broadening and jitter of the laser modes. This frequency stability is achieved by active control of the oscillator cavity length using an external cavity as a reference. Cavity length stabilization can also reduce mode-locked laser timing jitter if the jitter is caused by cavity optical path length changes common to all laser modes. In our laser, however, the active optical-frequency-stabilization did not significantly improve laser pulse timing stability from the approximate 2-ps jitter levels achieved in our passively stabilized cavity. Analysis of the data indicates that a significant fraction of the timing jitter was due to laser cavity path length changes that varied from mode to mode.< >