BBO Pockels Cell

BBO is an electro-optic material of choice for high average power Pockels cell applications. BBO has significant advantages over other materials in terms of laser power handling abilities, temperature stability, and substantial freedom from piezoelectric ringing. Because of low capacitance, the switching time is very fast. The wide transparency range of BBO allows it to be used in diverse applications.

Clearly, ringing associated with use of BBO is much less than when either KD*P or LiNbO3 is used. The last trace shows the transmission with BBO in the typical double-pass configuration at the quarter-wave voltage, switching at 5 kHz — the maximum rate allowed by the high voltage driver that was used. In this last trace, intensity is a maximum when voltage is applied; the bottom trace was taken with the laser beam blocked.


KD*P	BBO	LiNbO3

Advanced:

High Repetition Rate

Low Acoustic Noise

Damage Resistant Ceramic Apertures

High Average Power Applications

Compact Design

Lower Voltage Requirements Than Other BBO Cells

Suitable for Q-switch and Regen-amp Applications

Specifications:

Aperture Diameter	3.5 mm	2.5 mm
Quarter-Wave Voltage	4.8Kv	3.6Kv
Intrinsic Contrast @ 1064 nm	> 1000 : 1
Optical Transmission	> 98 % T
Repetition Ratio	<100kHz
Damage Threshold* (Nanosecond Pulses)	> 500 MW / cm²
Damage Threshold* (cw Power)	> 3 kW / cm²
Wavefront Distortion @ 1064 nm	< l/8
Electrical Contacts	two, electrically floating, miniature banana plugs
Typical Capacitance	3 pF
Outline Dimensions	1" Diameter x 2" Long Cylinder