Unidirectional, planar ring laser with birefringence
US5177764A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 9, 1990 |
| Grant date | Jan 5, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 9, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/1066
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention provides a means of inducing unidirectional oscillation in monolithic and composite ring lasers in which the light path is planar. The intracavity optical diode that enforces unidirectional oscillation in the planar ring oscillator is achieved by a combination of the nonreciprocal Faraday effect, a linear birefringence effect in which the principal axes of the birefringence are not parallel and perpendicular to the plane of propagation of the ring light path, and one or more partial polarizer effects. The present invention enables experimental optimization of polarization transformations within a planar ring oscillator, even if the oscillator is monolithic, and also provides a means of tuning the frequency of the planar ring oscillator. Applications of the present invention involving monolithic resonators, composite resonators in which the ring light path is entirely contained within solid-state media, and composite resonators in which the ring light path involves propagation across one or more gaps between physically separated solid-state elements are also taught. The present invention provides an attractive alternative to the use of nonplanar ring light path…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.