Multiple-stage optical Kerr gate system
US5828484A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 26, 1993 |
| Grant date | Oct 27, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 26, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S372/70
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A multiple-stage optical Kerr gate system for gating a probe pulse of light. In a first embodiment, the system includes at least two optical Kerr gates, each Kerr gate including a polarizer, an optical Kerr cell actuable by a pump pulse, and an analyzer. In a second embodiment, at least one of the Kerr cells may be eliminated by arranging the respective sets of polarizers and analyzers so that they share a common Kerr cell. Gated pulses obtained using the present system typically have a signal to noise ratio that is at least 500 times better than that for gated pulses obtained using a single optical Kerr gate system. The system of the present invention may also include means for causing the pump pulse to arrive at the second Kerr cell (in the case of the first embodiment) or at a single Kerr cell a second time (in the case of the second embodiment) non-synchronously with the arrival of the probe pulse thereat. In this manner, gated pulses may be obtained that are much shorter in duration than pulses gated with a single optical Kerr gate system.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.