Multiply folded laser systems
US4815094A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 22, 1987 |
| Grant date | Mar 21, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 22, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/081
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The laser resonator of the present invention has multiply folded optical paths in an extended region by utilizing a set of front surface reflecting elements. The resonator can be used in a gas laser oscillator or amplifier, in either continuous wave mode or pulsed mode. This optical path is folded into larger domains within a polygonal area of the laser cavity, thereby achieving increasingly longer laser paths without a corresponding increase in the number of folding elements. The resulting domains fully cover the plane with a grid of evenly spaced and intersecting optical paths. In one embodiment, the invention consists of a waveguide gas laser system with a ceramic block having a multiply folded optical path of intersecting waveguide channels cut into the block. The reflecting mirrors of the laser resonator are integrally attached to the ceramic block, enhancing the durability of the laser resonator and reducing the size. Since the laser medium is gaseous, the matching of the refractive indices is not required.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.