Tsunami Mode-Locked Ti:sapphire Laser
11-2
Generic Troubleshooting (Non-Lok-to-Clock Systems)
Symptom: No output
Possible Causes Corrective Action
Pump laser shutter is not open. Open the pump laser shutter.
Insufficient pump power. Adjust pump power to:
∼8 to 10 W for a 10 W pump configuration.
∼5 W for the > 5 W pump configuration.
Chiller mishap or is not on. Turn on the chiller.
Check that the reservoir water level is filled to the proper level.
Check temperature setting; should be set to 18°C.
Check for a water flow obstruction in the chiller and Tsunami laser head.
Obstruction in the cavity. Check for misaligned components or other objects that obstruct the beam
path in the cavity.
Fluorescence not aligned. Check for misalignment in the pump beam and/or the Tsunami cavity. Refer
to “Cavity Alignment” in Chapter 6 for details.
Overlap of the M
1
and M
3
fluorescence image.
Fluorescence position from M
4
through the cavity to the center of the OC.
Overlap of the OC retro-reflection to the cavity.
Femto specific: M
6
through M
9
were not adjusted after an optic conversion.
Slit orientation is incorrect
(femto configuration only)
When it is necessary to rotate M
6
through M
9
for optic set conversion (i.e.,
Standard to Long λ set), the slit position must be reoriented to bisect the
fluorescence.
Remove slit assembly prior to M
6
through M
9
adjustment.
Lower the slit position to intercept the altered fluorescence path after the
M
6
through M
9
adjustment for converting to longer λ set and vise versa.
Bi-fi is incorrectly set
(ps configuration only)
When changing optic set or converting to ps, it is necessary to orient the bi-fi
to the proper rotation for the optic set, otherwise lasing is not possible.
Refer to Chapter 6, “Alignment: Selecting, Installing and Aligning the Bire-
fringent Filter” for details.
Wrong optic(s) in the cavity
and/or cavity location.
Verify that all cavity optics are correct to their location according to Table 10-
10 in Chapter 10.
One or more optics are
installed backwards.
Verify that the arrow on all the optics point towards the laser cavity.
A white card was left in the
beam path.
Remove the card.
Cavity Optics Are Out Of Align-
ment.
Adjust M
1
and M
10
as described in Chapter 6, “Alignment: Cavity Alignment.”
If these adjustments fail to restore output, refer to the next cause below.
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