Optical pumping method for gain-media with polarization sensitive absorption
Granted: March 10, 2009
Patent Number:
7502404
A method for optically pumping a gain-medium with partially polarized or unpolarized pump-light having a wavelength at which that gain-medium has an absorption that is dependent on the polarization plane of the pump-light is disclosed. The pump-light is directed into the gain-medium. The strongest-absorbed polarization component of the pump-light is substantially absorbed and the weakest-absorbed polarization component is partially transmitted by the gain-medium. The polarization plane…
Method for laterally-coupling frequency-converted laser radiation out of a resonator
Granted: December 16, 2008
Patent Number:
7466728
In traveling-wave ring-resonator an optically nonlinear crystal for converting visible radiation to ultraviolet (UV) radiation has an input face and two output faces. The visible light propagates through the crystal from the input face to one of the output faces. That output face is coated with a dichroic optical coating that transmits unconverted visible light and reflects the ultraviolet light. The reflected ultraviolet light exits the optically nonlinear crystal via the other output…
Intracavity frequency-tripled CW laser
Granted: December 9, 2008
Patent Number:
7463657
A method of intracavity frequency conversion in a CW laser includes causing fundamental radiation to circulate in a laser resonator. The fundamental radiation makes a first pass through an optically nonlinear crystal where a fraction of the fundamental radiation generates second-harmonic radiation in a forward pass through the crystal. The residual fundamental radiation and the second-harmonic radiation are then sum-frequency mixed in forward and reverse passes through an optically…
Pulsed RF high pressure COlasers
Granted: November 18, 2008
Patent Number:
7453918
An improved laser system includes a sealed-off, RF excited, diffusion cooled, high pressure, short pulsed, high peak power waveguide and slab CO2 laser that avoids problems typically associated with obtaining a diffused discharge at high gas pressures, without arcing and without corona, while maintaining the unsaturated gain and gas temperature experienced at low pressures and scaling to higher pressures. Such a system has a long operating life-time, and is capable of operation at high…
Optically pumped semiconductor laser pumped optical parametric oscillator
Granted: November 4, 2008
Patent Number:
7447245
An optically pumped semiconductor pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPS-pumped OPO) includes an OPS laser resonator and an OPO resonator A portion the OPS laser resonator axis and the OPO resonator axis are collinear. An optically nonlinear crystal is located in the coaxial portion of the resonators and arranged to frequency divide fundamental radiation generated in the OPS laser resonator into signal and idler radiations. In one arrangement, the OPO laser resonator is also an OPS…
Widely tunable laser
Granted: October 28, 2008
Patent Number:
7443891
A Fabry-Perot laser and a micro-actuator are utilized to provide continuous tuning over a range of wavelengths.
Double-pass fiber amplifier
Granted: October 21, 2008
Patent Number:
7440181
Several examples of double-pass fiber amplifiers including a polarization maintaining (PM) gain-fiber are disclosed. In each example, input and twice-amplified output are separated by an all-fiber, polarization-maintaining polarization splitter combiner. One example includes a double-pass fiber amplifier which relies on a double pass through a 45 degree fiber based rotator to rotate the polarization of the light.
Frequency-doubled edge-emitting semiconductor lasers
Granted: October 7, 2008
Patent Number:
7433374
A frequency-doubled, edge-emitting semiconductor laser includes a separate confinement heterostructure surmounted by a waveguide including a converting layer of a periodically poled, optically nonlinear material. Fundamental radiation generated in the heterostructure is directionally coupled from the heterostructure into the waveguide, is converted to second-harmonic radiation in the converting layer and is delivered from the waveguide as output radiation. In one example, a distributed…
Adjustable pulse-shaper
Granted: September 30, 2008
Patent Number:
7430071
An optical pulse-shaper includes a prism, a delay line having positive optical power and a reflective spatial light modulator. In one arrangement the delay line has a selectively variable optical path length for accommodating pulses of different spectral bandwidth and positive optical power is provided by a concave mirror. In another arrangement, the delay line includes a zoom-mirror arranged to provide selectively variable optical power for accommodating pulses of different spectral…
Method and apparatus for providing uniform illumination of a mask in laser projection systems
Granted: September 23, 2008
Patent Number:
7428039
An optical system for projecting a laser-beam on a mask to illuminate the mask includes a beam homogenizing arrangement including spaced arrays of microlenses. The beam homogenizing arrangement redistributes light in the laser beam such that the intensity of light in the laser-beam on the mask is nearly uniform along a transverse axis of the laser-beam. A stop extending partially into the laser-beam between the microlens arrays provides a more uniform light-intensity on the mask along…
Bandwidth-limited and long pulse master oscillator power oscillator laser systems
Granted: August 26, 2008
Patent Number:
7418022
Laser systems have a line-narrowed master oscillator and a power oscillator for amplifying the output of the master oscillator. The power oscillator includes optical arrangements for limiting the bandwidth of radiation that can be amplified. The limited amplification bandwidth of the power oscillator is relatively broad compared to that of the output of the master oscillator, but narrower than would be the case without the bandwidth limiting arrangements. The bandwidth narrowing…
Speckle reduction in laser illuminated projection displays having a one-dimensional spatial light modulator
Granted: August 19, 2008
Patent Number:
7413311
A projection display including a one-dimensional light modulator includes an optical arrangement for projecting light from a laser onto the modulator in the form of a line of light. Light from the laser is divided to create in effect a two-dimensional array of mutually incoherent light sources. Light from one axis of the array is projected onto the modulator to form the length of the line of light and light from the other axis of the array is projected onto the modulator to form the…
Processing system with interspersed stall propagating processors and communication elements
Granted: August 19, 2008
Patent Number:
7415594
A processing system comprising processors and the dynamically configurable communication elements coupled together in an interspersed arrangement. The processors each comprise at least one arithmetic logic unit, an instruction processing unit, and a plurality of processor ports. The dynamically configurable communication elements each comprise a plurality of communication ports, a first memory, and a routing engine. For each of the processors, the plurality of processor ports is…
Mechanically Q-switched COlaser
Granted: August 12, 2008
Patent Number:
7411989
A CO2 laser has a resonator mirror that oscillates about an axis perpendicular to the resonator axis through an angular range of oscillation sufficient that the resonator is only able to deliver radiation for a fraction of an oscillation period of the mirror. In one example of the laser, the oscillating mirror is an end-mirror of the resonator. In another example, the oscillating mirror is a fold mirror of the resonator.
Method and apparatus for coupling laser beams
Granted: August 5, 2008
Patent Number:
7408714
In a photomask projection system, a photomask mask is illuminated by light from two lasers. A beam from one of the lasers is mixed with a beam from the other laser to provide two mixed beams each containing of portion of the beams from both lasers. The mixed beams are directed at an angle to each other and intersect on the photomask.
Optically pumped external-cavity semiconductor laser with multiple gain structures
Granted: August 5, 2008
Patent Number:
7408970
A laser-resonator terminated by two end mirrors is folded by a plurality of OPS-structures and a plurality of fold-mirrors. The OPS-structures are energized by focused radiation from diode-laser bars. The fold-mirrors are configured and arranged with respect to the OPS-structures and the end-mirrors such that a beam of laser radiation circulating in the resonator has about the same dimensions on each OPS-structure.
Beam steering and combination
Granted: July 29, 2008
Patent Number:
7406220
Systems and methods for steering at least one of two or more optical input beams and forming a combined optical output beam are disclosed. A system has a waveguide, one or more phase controlling devices and one or more beam steering devices. The waveguide is configured to combine the optical input beams. The one or more phase controlling devices are configured to control a phase of at least one of the optical input beams. The system can form a coherently combined optical output beam. The…
Quasi-CW UV laser with low peak pulse-power
Granted: July 22, 2008
Patent Number:
7403550
An in vivo screening assay for identifying an agent that interferes with T cell activation and/or -differentiation and/or modulation of other inflammatory effector cells.
Quasi-CW UV laser with low peak pulse-power
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7400658
Laser apparatus is disclosed in which fundamental-wavelength optical pulses delivered from a mode-locked laser resonator at a pulse-repetition frequency (PRF) are converted to harmonic-wavelength pulses in an optical delay loop. One example is disclosed in which the harmonic-wavelength pulses are delivered directly from the delay loop. Another example is disclosed in which the harmonic-wavelength pulses are divided by the delay loop into a number of temporally spaced-apart replicas…
Transport optical fiber for Q-switched lasers
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7400794
An optical fiber assembly includes a clad optical fiber having an end-cap thereon. Radiation is focused into the optical fiber via the end-cap. A roughened portion of the fiber cladding behind the end-cap allows any radiation focused into the fiber and propagating in the cladding to escape the optical fiber. A concave reflector surrounding the optical fiber reflects the escaped radiation away from the fiber assembly. A connector for connecting the optical fiber to a laser includes an…
