Optical mixing approach for controlling electro-magnetic attributes of emitted laser pulses

US11201448B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. · US

Inventors

• Yannick C. Morel · Falls Church, US
• Peter A. Budni · Nashua, US
• Peter A. Ketteridge · Amherst, US
• Michael L Lemons · Antrim, US
• Kevin T Werner · Nashua, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 2, 2020
• Grant date: Dec 14, 2021
• Expiry date: Dec 2, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01S3/2308
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The system and method of producing a first path comprising a pulse stretcher for a mid-wave infrared (MWIR) signal, an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) amplifier, and a MWIR compressor for producing a first beam in a MWIR portion of the spectrum and a second path comprising a pulse stretcher for a long wave infrared (LWIR) signal, an OPCPA amplifier, and a LWIR compressor for producing a second beam in a LWIR portion of the spectrum. Each beam, on its own, is configured to produce laser-matter interactions at long range (100s of meters), having nonlinear effects and favoring supercontinuum generation spanning multiple octaves, that is temporally and spatially overlapped with the fundamental laser beam.