Generation of multiply folded optical paths
US4870654A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 17, 1988 |
| Grant date | Sep 26, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 17, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/076
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
This new technique for stacking multiply folded optical paths in an extended region of a laser resonator within a gaseous medium. The path segments are connected together by a set of mirrors located along the resonator perimeter. Moreover, this invention involves a system of stacking unit tiles, each minim containing a multiply folded path, into larger domains. A multiplicity of mirrors is located in the laser resonator around the perimeter of stacked minims. A longer optical path is achieved without a corresponding increase in the number of folding elements, by stacking the minims together and thereby extending the length of the folding elements. The resulting domains fully cover the plane with a grid of evenly spaced and intersecting optical paths. The laser resonator can be used in either a laser oscillator or amplifier, and in either pulsed or continuous wave mode. In one embodiment of this invention, a waveguide gas laser system has ceramic blocks located within the laser resonator, and each block has a multiply folded waveguide channel formed therein. The larger multiply folded optical path is formed by stacking the ceramic blocks together and aligning the waveguide channels.…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.