System and method for amplification and wavefront compensation of depolarized optical beams
US5568309A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 24, 1994 |
| Grant date | Oct 22, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 24, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/2341
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An optical amplification system and method that allows an optical seed beam to pass through an optical amplifier more than two times, even when the seed beam is highly depolarized. This is accomplished by using a polarizing beamsplitter that separates a highly depolarized seed beam into two diverging orthogonally polarized beams. The orthogonally polarized beams perform a first pass through the amplifier and are re-directed back into the amplifier so that each beam makes a second pass through the amplifier by propagating back along the other beam's first path. Because of the path exchange, the two orthogonally polarized beams diverge from each other when they pass back through the polarizing beamsplitter. The diverging beams are phase conjugated and retrace their respective paths through the system so that each beam performs a third and fourth pass through the amplifier. After the fourth pass, the orthogonally polarized beams are recombined into a single depolarized return beam by the polarizing beamsplitter. A high power phase conjugate laser system that utilizes the above described amplifier system is also provided.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.