MODE-LOCKED OPTICALLY PUMPED SEMICONDUCTOR LASER
Granted: January 3, 2013
Application Number:
20130003761
A laser includes an optically pumped semiconductor OPS gain-structure. The apparatus has a laser-resonator which includes a mode-locking device for causing the laser to deliver mode-locked pulses. The resonator has a total length selected such that the mode-locked pulses are delivered at a pulse repetition frequency of about 100 MHz. An optical arrangement within the resonator provides that radiation circulating in the resonator makes a plurality of incidences on the OPS gain-structure…
FIBER-MOPA APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING PULSES ON DEMAND
Granted: December 20, 2012
Application Number:
20120320450
A fiber-MOPA includes a seed-pulse source followed by fiber amplifier stages. The seed pulse source delivers signal pulses for performing a laser operation and delivers radiation between the seed pulses to maintain the collective average of the seed pulse power and intermediate radiation power constant. Keeping this average power constant keeps the instantaneous available gain of the fiber amplifier stages constant. This provides that the seed pulse delivery can be changed from one…
IMPEDANCE-MATCHING TRANSFORMERS FOR RF DRIVEN CO2 GAS DISCHARGE LASERS
Granted: December 6, 2012
Application Number:
20120307852
In a CO2 gas discharge laser energized by a radio frequency (RF) power source a transformer having selectively variable output impedance is used to match output impedance of the power source to the impedance of discharge electrodes of the laser. A similar transformer can be used to impose a selective variable phase-shift on the RF power from the source. The variable impedance transformer can also be used for impedance matching between amplifier stages in the power source.
FREQUENCY-TRIPLED FIBER MOPA
Granted: November 29, 2012
Application Number:
20120300287
Fundamental-wavelength pulses from a fiber a laser are divided into three or more pulse portions and the three or more portions are separately amplified. Two or more of the amplified fundamental-wavelength pulse-portions are combined and frequency-doubled. The frequency doubled portion is sum-frequency mixed with one or more of the other amplified fundamental wavelength pulse-portions to provide third-harmonic radiation pulses.
WAVEGUIDE CO2 LASER WITH MUTIPLY FOLDED RESONATOR
Granted: November 8, 2012
Application Number:
20120281728
A gas-discharge waveguide CO2 laser has a Z-shaped folded waveguide formed by three ceramic tubes. Ends of the adjacent tubes are shaped and fitted together to form a common aperture. The tubes are held fitted together by spaced-apart parallel discharge electrodes. Four mirrors are arranged to form a laser-resonator having a longitudinal axis extending through the tubes.
LASER PRINTER WITH MULTIPLE LASER-BEAM SOURCES
Granted: October 25, 2012
Application Number:
20120268548
A laser printer arranged to print a pixellated image on laser sensitive tape includes a carriage on which are arranged two laser-beam sources delivering separately modulated laser-beams and optics for focusing the beams on the tape. The tape is mounted on a tape drive which drives the tape incrementally in one direction. The carriage is translated over the tape in a direction perpendicular to the tape-drive direction, while the modulated beams are focused. Two rows of the pixellated…
UNIT-MAGNIFICATION CATADIOPTRIC AND CATOPTRIC PROJECTION OPTICAL SYSTEMS
Granted: October 25, 2012
Application Number:
20120268836
Ring-field, catoptric and catadioptric, unit-magnification, projection optical systems having non-concentric optical surfaces are disclosed. Each system has a system axis with object and image planes on opposite sides of the system axis. The non-concentric surfaces allow for working distances of the object and image planes in excess of 100 millimeters to be achieved, with a ring-field width sufficient to allow a rectangular object-field having a long dimension in excess of 100 mm to be…
OPTICALLY-PUMPED SURFACE-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR LASER WITH HEAT-SPREADING COMPOUND MIRROR-STRUCTURE
Granted: October 25, 2012
Application Number:
20120269216
A gain-module for use in an OPS-laser includes a multilayer semiconductor gain-structure surmounting a multilayer compound mirror-structure. Within the multilayer compound mirror-structure is a relatively thick layer of diamond which serves as a heat-spreader.
HIGH-PRECISION SYNCHRONIZATION OF PULSED GAS-DISCHARGE LASERS
Granted: October 25, 2012
Application Number:
20120269223
Two excimer lasers have individual pulsing circuits each including a storage capacitor which is charged and then discharged through a pulse transformer to generate an electrical pulse, which is delivered to the laser to generate a light pulse. The time between generation of the electrical pulse and creation of the light pulse is dependent on the charged voltage of the capacitor. The capacitors are charged while disconnected from each other. The generation of the electrical pulses is…
BROAD-AREA EDGE-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR LASER WITH LIMITED THERMAL CONTACT
Granted: October 18, 2012
Application Number:
20120263201
A diode-laser having an elongated diode-laser emitter is mounted on a relatively massive heat-sink. Two parallel grooves are machined into the heat-sink to leave a relatively narrow elongated ridge of the heat-sink between the grooves. The ridge has a width about equal to or narrower that the width of the emitter. The diode-laser is mounted on the heat-sink such that thermal communication between the emitter and heat-sink is essentially limited to thermal communication with the ridge.
AMORPHOUS SILICON CRYSTALLIZATION USING COMBINED BEAMS FROM MULTIPLE OSCILLATORS
Granted: October 18, 2012
Application Number:
20120260847
In a silicon crystallization method, a pulse is delivered from each of two excimer lasers. The duration of one of the pulses is extended in a pulse-duration extender to a duration significantly longer than that of that of the other. The extended-duration and other pulses are delivered along a common path. The other pulse temporally overlaps the extended-duration pulse after delivery of the extended-duration pulse begins. The silicon is preheated by the extended-duration before being…
DIODE-LASER ILLUMINATOR WITH INTERCHANGEABLE MODULES FOR CHANGING IRRADIANCE AND BEAM DIMENSIONS
Granted: October 11, 2012
Application Number:
20120257387
Projection apparatus for projecting a radiation spot on a working plane includes a plurality of stacks of diode-laser bars. Each stack provides a beam of laser radiation. The diode-laser bars in each stack are arranged one above another in the fast-axis direction of the diode-laser bars. A corresponding plurality of beam-expanders expands the beam from the corresponding diode-laser bar stack in the slow-axis direction of the diode laser bars only. A focusing lens collects the slow-axis…
COOLING APPARATUS FOR OPTICALLY PUMPED SEMICONDUCTOR LASER
Granted: October 11, 2012
Application Number:
20120257647
An OPS-chip is soldered mirror-structure-side down on an upper surface of diamond-heat spreader. A metal frame is also soldered to the upper surface of the heat-spreader. The lower surface of the diamond heat-spreader is either soldered to, or clamped against, a surface of a heat-sink. The dimensions of the frame and the heat spreader are selected such that at a solidification temperature of the solder at the center of the upper surface of the heat-spreader has an effective CTE…
TRANSITION-METAL-DOPED THIN-DISK LASER
Granted: October 4, 2012
Application Number:
20120250719
A laser includes a Ti:sapphire gain-medium in the form of a thin-disk. The thin-disk gain-medium is optically pumped by pump-radiation pulses having a wavelength in the green region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The pump-radiation pulses have a duration less than twice the excited-state lifetime of the gain-medium.
HIGH-POWER CW FIBER-LASER
Granted: September 13, 2012
Application Number:
20120230352
A CW fiber-laser includes a gain fiber having a reflector proximity-coupled to one end, with the other end left uncoated. A laser resonator is defined by the reflector and the uncoated end of the gain-fiber. Pump-radiation from two fast-axis diode-laser bar stacks is combined and focused into the uncoated end of the gain-fiber for energizing the fiber. Laser radiation resulting from the energizing is delivered from the uncoated end of the gain-fiber and separated from the pump-radiation…
SINGLE-MODE INTRA-CAVITY FREQUENCY-DOUBLED CW SOLID-STATE LASER WITH VOLUMETRIC GAIN-GRATING
Granted: September 6, 2012
Application Number:
20120224595
A solid state-gain medium is in the form of a thin disk backed by a reflective coating. A laser resonator is formed by the reflective coating and another mirror. Optical pump radiation is directed into the thin-disk gain-medium for energizing the gain-medium and generating a standing wave of fundamental-wavelength radiation in the resonator. The pump-radiation is directed into the gain-medium at an angle to the resonator axis and pump-radiation fringes are formed by interference between…
DELIVERY FIBER FOR SURGICAL LASER TREATMENT AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME
Granted: August 23, 2012
Application Number:
20120211145
An method is disclosed for forming an optical surgical fiber assembly for delivering laser radiation from a laser radiation source to a treatment site that includes a sealed off capillary enclosing a delivery end of the fiber. The capillary is formed from an outermost layer of fused silica and an adjacent layer of boron-doped fused silica having a higher CTE than that of the fused silica. The capillary is shrink-fitted onto the delivery end of the fiber. A compressive stress is imparted…
DELIVERY FIBER FOR SURGICAL LASER TREATMENT AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME
Granted: August 23, 2012
Application Number:
20120215211
An optical surgical fiber assembly for delivering laser radiation from a laser radiation source to a treatment site has a sealed off capillary enclosing a delivery end of the fiber. The capillary is formed from an outermost layer of fused silica and an adjacent layer of boron-doped fused silica having a higher CTE than that of the fused silica. The capillary is shrink-fitted onto the delivery end of the fiber. A compressive stress is imparted to the outermost layer of the capillary as a…
POWDER-DELIVERY APPARATUS FOR LASER-CLADDING
Granted: August 9, 2012
Application Number:
20120199564
Powder-delivery apparatus for delivering powdered cladding-material into the vicinity of a laser-beam spot includes a plurality of powder-delivery modules. Each of the modules is arranged to receive the cladding-material and deliver the cladding-material through a plurality of nozzles. The position of the nozzles in the modules with respect to the laser-beam spot is adjustable in three Cartesian axes. The modules are selectively removable from, and attachable to the apparatus. Nozzles in…
OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR PUMPED BY FEMTOSECOND THIN-DISK LASER
Granted: August 9, 2012
Application Number:
20120200912
Pulses from a mode-locked Yb-doped laser are spectrally broadened, and temporally compressed, then frequency-doubled and used to pump an optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The OPO output is tunable over a wavelength range from about 600 nm to about 1100 nm.
