Side-pumped laser with shaped laser beam
US5867324A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 28, 1997 |
| Grant date | Feb 2, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 28, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S5/4025
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A solid-state laser having a rod of active material optically pumped along the side of the rod by an array of diode lasers. Beam shaping elements, such as Brewster angle facets on the end of the laser rod, cause the laser beam to assume a generally elliptical shape within the rod with the long axis of the ellipse aligned with the irradiation angle of the diode lasers. However, the beam is circularly shaped outside the rod. Preferably, the laser rod is held within an optical cavity formed within a cooling block which both cools the rod and reflects pump light back into the rod. The diode lasers irradiate the rod through a linear slit in the cooling block. Also, preferably, a slab-shaped optical waveguide is placed within the slit to guide the light from the diode lasers to the side of the laser rod.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.