Abstract:
An apparatus for generating and amplifying laser beams at approximately 1 micrometer wavelength is disclosed. The apparatus includes an ytterbium-doped gain-crystal pumped by an ytterbium fiber-laser. The fiber-laser enables a pump wavelength to be selected that minimizes heating of the gain-crystal. The apparatus can be configured for generating and amplifying ultra-fast pulses, utilizing the gain-bandwidth of ytterbium-doped gain-crystals.
Abstract:
A laser source which operated under the principals of cooperative unconversion produces controllable optical pulses at wavelengths which are shorter than the wavelength of the laser energy which pumps the gain medium. The source is a solid-state laser which employs a five percent Er:LiYF.sub.4 crystal which is arranged in an astigmatically-compensated 3-mirror cavity. Pumping is achieved at 1.5 microns in the infrared, and the system operates in a continuous-wave, mode-locked fashion in the green spectral region at approximately 544 nm. The cooperative inversion mechanism involves energy pooling by trios of excited rare earth dopant ions in the laser medium. Q-switching is achieved with the use of intracavity amplitude modulation so as to achieve three-fold upconversion. A 3-mirror astigmatically-compensated cavity with the gain medium permits modulation of losses in a manner which cannot be achieved with known systems and achieves high stability.
Abstract:
A laser incorporating a laser medium disposed within a laser cavity and a pumping arrangement for selectively applying excitation energy to said laser medium. The laser medium contains upconverting material of the type which allows for the exchange of energy between electrons of the lasing ions at a given energy state below the meta-stable initial lasing state so that some of said exchanging electrons are upconverted to energy states at or above the meta-stable initial lasing state. The pumping arrangement applies energy of suitable wavelength and intensity for elevating electrons from energy levels below the given state to that state in sufficient numbers to support substantial upconversion and the resulting lasing.
Abstract:
The invention relates to an optical pumping device comprising: a fibre light source emitting controlled radiation having a very high transverse modal quality, with a wavelength shorter than 1000 nm; at least one element consisting of an amplifying material doped with a rare earth dopant; means for introducing a pumping light into said doped amplifying material element; and means for cooling said amplifying material. Said optical pumping device is characterised in that the pumping light is emitted by the fibre light source with an average power of higher than 2 W and a modal quality characterised by an M2
Abstract:
An optical gain architecture includes a pump source and a pump aperture. The architecture also includes a gain region including a gain element operable to amplify light at a laser wavelength. The gain region is characterized by a first side intersecting an optical path, a second side opposing the first side, a third side adjacent the first and second sides, and a fourth side opposing the third side. The architecture further includes a dichroic section disposed between the pump aperture and the first side of the gain region. The dichroic section is characterized by low reflectance at a pump wavelength and high reflectance at the laser wavelength. The architecture additionally includes a first cladding section proximate to the third side of the gain region and a second cladding section proximate to the fourth side of the gain region.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for producing photoluminescence emissions (68) from thin CaF.sub.2 films grown on either silicon or silicon/aluminum substrate shows narrow emission linewidth and high emission intensities for CaF.sub.2 with thickness as low as 0,2 .mu.m, The preferred embodiment is doped with a rare-earth such as Nd.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus (242) generates intense spectral emissions (68) by associating a porous-Si layer (230) with a rare earth-doped CaF.sub.2 film (234) so that the rare earth-doped CaF.sub.2 film absorbs optical emissions (222) from the porous-Si layer (230). Circuitry (228, 244, and 238) associated with the apparatus (242 and 226) activate the porous-Si layer (230) to produce the optical emissions (222). The porous-Si layer (230) may be formed electrically, by chemical vapor deposition, or by anodizing crystalline silicon.
Abstract:
Four-fold and higher order lasers pumped by multiphoton absorption, avalanche mechanisms, or other means of internal upconversion for continuous-wave and continuous-wave mode-locked lasers. A solid-state laser system is contained within an astigmatically compensated cavity containing first and second mirrors. The gain medium is formed of a crystal of lithium yttrium fluoride heavily doped (5%) with trivalent erbium, or another form of crystal, such as CaF.sub.2 where the dopant atoms are clustered in quartets. The crystal, in a lithium yttrium fluoride embodiment, is approximately 3 mm thick with both sides thereof being polished flat to a laser grade finish. A pumping source supplies a pumping energy having a wavelength of 1.5 .mu.m to the gain medium, which wavelength is considerable longer than the output wavelength (701.5 nm) of the laser system. The gain medium may additionally be an alkali vapor formed of Cesium or Rubidium.
Abstract:
The invention relates to an optical pumping device comprising: a fibre light source emitting controlled radiation having a very high transverse modal quality, with a wavelength shorter than 1000 nm; at least one element consisting of an amplifying material doped with a rare earth dopant; means for introducing a pumping light into said doped amplifying material element; and means for cooling said amplifying material. Said optical pumping device is characterised in that the pumping light is emitted by the fibre light source with an average power of higher than 2W and a modal quality characterised by an M2
Abstract:
A high-gain optical amplifier for a wave to be amplified at a wavelength referred to as the emission wavelength, includes: optical pumping elements (4) producing a pump wave at a wavelength referred to as the pump wavelength; a solid amplifying medium (1) that is doped with active ions, the solid amplifying medium being capable of emitting laser radiation at the emission wavelength when the medium is pumped by the pumping elements; cooling elements (2) capable of cooling the solid amplifying medium to a temperature of no higher than 250 Kelvin; and optical multiplexing elements capable of coupling together the pump wave and the wave to be amplified in the amplifying medium. The amplifying medium has Stark sublevels contained within a spectral domain ranging over less than 200 cm−1 (approximately 20 nm, when expressed in wavelength). A laser including a resonant optical cavity and an amplifier are also described.