Optical pulse duration extender
Granted: April 25, 2006
Patent Number:
7035012
An optical pulse extender includes a delay loop formed by a plurality of mirrors and a graded reflectivity beamsplitter. The mirrors and the beamsplitter are configured and aligned such that a pulse to be broadened makes a predetermined number of round trips in the delay loop and is incident on a different zone of the beamsplitter after each round trip. The different zones of the beamsplitter have different reflection values and different transmission values. These values are selected…
Apparatus for projecting a line of light from a diode-laser array
Granted: March 21, 2006
Patent Number:
7016393
Apparatus for projecting a line of light includes a linear array of diode-lasers arranged in a diode-laser bar. The apparatus includes an optical system. Components of the system include a plurality of lenses and array of cylindrical microlenses having the same spacing as diode-lasers in the diode-laser array. The microlens array is spaced at a distance from the diode-laser bar and aligned with the diode-laser bar such that the front focal plane of the microlens array is between the…
Method and apparatus for coupling radiation from a stack of diode-laser bars into a single-core optical fiber
Granted: March 7, 2006
Patent Number:
7010194
A method of coupling laser-radiation into an optical fiber includes providing a stack of diode-laser bars and first and second parallel mirrors, the second mirror is selectively reflective only for one polarization plane of the laser-radiation. Each of the diode-laser bars includes at least two spaced-apart diode-laser emitters each emitting a plane-polarized beam of laser-radiation having a fast axis and a slow axis. The laser-radiation beams are collimated in the fast axis by a…
Apparatus for reducing spacing of beams delivered by stacked diode-laser bars
Granted: February 28, 2006
Patent Number:
7006549
Two parallel sets of groups of beams from diode laser bars are spaced apart by a distance V. The two sets of beam groups are interleaved by a beam combiner to provide on set of beam groups spaced apart by a distance V/2. The beam combiner includes a plurality of reflective strips in a plane inclined to the direction of propagation of the beam groups. One set of beam groups is transmitted through the beam combiner without being intercepted by the reflective strips. The other set of beam…
Method and apparatus for providing multiple independently controllable beams from a single laser output beam
Granted: February 21, 2006
Patent Number:
7003003
A laser output beam is directed into an acousto-optic cell. The acousto-optic cell is driven by RF voltages at a plurality of different frequencies. Portions of the laser output beam are diffracted by the acousto-optic cell at a plurality of different angles corresponding the different drive frequencies. The different portions of the output beam define a plurality of secondary beams. The magnitude of the RF voltages applied to the acousto-optic cell and the power in the laser output beam…
Discharge igniter for a waveguide COlaser
Granted: February 14, 2006
Patent Number:
6999490
A waveguide gas laser includes an enclosure filled with a lasing gas. A ceramic block is provided with one or more waveguide channels. At least one of the waveguide channels includes an open region which is in fluid communication with a waveguide channel. Lasing gas in the enclosure fills the waveguide channels and the lateral extension. An electric field is applied across the lateral extension of the waveguide channel while simultaneously applying a smaller electric field across the…
Apparatus for reducing spacing of beams delivered by stacked diode-laser bars
Granted: January 31, 2006
Patent Number:
6993059
Apparatus for reducing spacing between a plurality of parallel, spaced apart plane-polarized laser-radiation beams delivered by a stack of laser-diode bars includes a ninety degree polarization rotator, and a compound prism including a total reflecting surface an internal polarization-selective surface parallel to each other. The polarization-selective surface is highly transmissive for radiation plane-polarized in one polarization orientation and highly reflective for radiation…
Mode multiplexing optical coupling device
Granted: January 24, 2006
Patent Number:
6990278
An efficient tapered optical fiber bundle along with the method of manufacturing is presented. The tapered fiber bundle is fully fused to an induced shape with no interstitial space between fibers. To minimize fiber deformation and hence the tapered bundle's loss, the individual fibers are minimally deformed by positioning them in a fixture with predetermined geometry prior to fusion. The bundle could be optionally reshaped after fusion. The tapered bundle could then be used in its…
Turning prism for ultraviolet radiation
Granted: December 27, 2005
Patent Number:
6980358
A truncated triangular prism has an entrance and an exit face perpendicular to each other and a reflecting face inclined at an angle ? to the entrance face where ? is about 135°??B, and where ?B is the external Brewster angle for the material of the prism at the wavelength of radiation to be reflected by the prism. A beam of p-polarized radiation directed into the prism through the entrance face at the Brewster angle is totally internally reflected from the reflecting face and leaves…
Pre-ionizer for RF-energized gas laser
Granted: November 8, 2005
Patent Number:
6963596
A pre-ionizing arrangement for a gas laser includes two ceramic-jacketed ionizer electrodes extending into an enclosure including spaced-apart slab electrodes of the laser and a lasing gas at reduced pressure. RF power is applied to the dielectric-jacketed ionizer electrodes creating a gas discharge between the dielectric-jacketed ionizer electrodes. This discharge provides ions in the laser gas. The presence of these ions in the lasing gas facilitates ignition of a gas discharge between…
Solid state system and method for generating ultraviolet light
Granted: November 8, 2005
Patent Number:
6963591
Infrared laser light generated by a solid state diode pumped transform-limited Ti:Sapphire laser is converted to UV wavelengths using third and fourth harmonic generation systems. The resulting output is tunable between approximately 187 and 333 nm. The combined solid state Ti:Sapphire laser and harmonic generation system includes feedback mechanisms for improved power and wavelength stability. The system can operate at pulse repetition rates of several thousand Hertz.
Optically pumped edge-emitting semiconductor laser
Granted: September 20, 2005
Patent Number:
6947466
A multilayer semiconductor laser includes a substrate on which is formed a semiconductor multilayer heterostructure divided into a plurality of electrically pumped regions and an elongated optically pumped region. The electrically pumped regions generate and delivering optical pump radiation laterally into the elongated optically pumped region. Output radiation is generated and delivered by the optically pumped region.
Optically pumped semiconductor ring laser
Granted: September 6, 2005
Patent Number:
6940880
An optically pumped semiconductor laser includes an active ring-resonator having two or more optically pumped semiconductor (OPS) structures each including a mirror-structure and a multilayer gain-structure. The mirror-structures serve as fold mirrors for the resonator axis. An optically nonlinear crystal may be included in the ring-resonator for generating second-harmonic radiation from fundamental radiation generated in the resonator. Another optically nonlinear crystal may be provided…
Q-switching method for pulse train generation
Granted: August 16, 2005
Patent Number:
6931035
A method of operating a continuously pumped, Q-switched laser to provide trains of pulses for laser operations is disclosed. The laser includes a solid-state gain-medium that exhibits a thermal-lensing effect on being optically pumped. Pulse delivery is controlled by a Q-switch that is in a normally-open state when the laser is not delivering pulses. This allows the laser to deliver CW laser radiation when pulses are not being delivered. A train of pulses is delivered by repeatedly…
Diode-laser curing of liquid epoxide encapsulants
Granted: July 5, 2005
Patent Number:
6913794
A method of encapsulating an integrated-circuit component supported on a substrate comprises depositing on the component a thermally curable liquid organic matrix in sufficient quantity to form a layer covering the component. The liquid matrix layer is irradiated by laser radiation having a wavelength between about 600 and 1000 nanometers. The liquid matrix includes one or more additive materials that are strongly absorbing for the wavelength of the laser radiation. The liquid matrix…
Off-peak optical pumping of yttrium orthovanadate
Granted: May 24, 2005
Patent Number:
6898231
A laser includes an Nd:YVO4 crystal end-pumped with diode-laser light having a wavelength at which the absorption coefficient for Nd:YVO4 is less than about 0.35 (35%) of the absorption coefficient at 808 nm.
Power scalable waveguide amplifier and laser devices
Granted: May 17, 2005
Patent Number:
6894828
The present invention is directed to guided wave systems, beam transport and waveguide techniques. The invention may comprise passive or active, hollow and dielectric core self-imaging mode wave guide systems, beam amplifiers (10, 40), laser resonators (70), beam transports, and waveguides. Embodiments may include rectangular cross-section waveguides, and preferably maintaining spatial profile of an input beam, such as a Gaussian beam, through the self-imaging period of the waveguide…
Tuning means for stringed musical instrument
Granted: May 10, 2005
Patent Number:
6891094
A stringed musical instrument is provided wherein each string has two critical points, A fulcrum tremolo is mounted on the instrument for varying the tension of the strings and the distance between the two critical points. The strings are attached to a plurality of intonation modules mounted on the fulcrum tremolo. Each intonation module is adjustable so that the strings can be adjusted from an untensioned state to a proper playing pitch. A bearing assembly is also included to facilitate…
Induced absorption filter (IAF)
Granted: February 22, 2005
Patent Number:
6859483
An optical filter uses a multi-layer, stack of alternating dielectric layers (16, 18) of different refractive indices, a dielectric spacer layer (20) and metal layer (21), to achieve a narrow overall absorption bandwidth, with high reflectance upon either side. A tunable (optical) filter variant uses a dielectric stack and spacer coating of spatially-varying thickness, that is a coating of depth varying, say linearly and/or circularly, according to position across an absorbent layer or…
Q-switched CO2 laser for material processing
Granted: November 30, 2004
Patent Number:
6826204
A simultaneously super pulsed Q-switched CO2 laser system for material processing is disclosed. The system comprises sealed-off folded waveguides with folded mirrors that are thin film coated to select the output wavelength of the laser. The system also comprises a plurality of reflective devices defining a cavity; a gain medium positioned within the cavity for generating a laser beam; a cavity loss modulator for modulating the laser beam, generating thereby one or more laser pulses; a…
