Laser systems with improved performance and reduced parasitics and method
US5926494A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 11, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jul 20, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 11, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S2301/02
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system and a method of pumping a gain medium element in one or more stages of a laser amplifier or oscillator with a spatially inhomogeneous optical pump beam, to minimize the potential for parasitic oscillation modes and amplified spontaneous emissions. The method is preferably accomplished by generating a spatially modulated optical pump beam, and pumping the gain medium element with the spatially modulated optical pump beam, to optically fragment the gain medium element into discontinuous amplifying gain regions, thereby creating a very lossy configuration for undesirable lateral modes, while maintaining a high-gain path for the desired longitudinal mode of operation. If there is more then one amplifier stage, the substantially identical optical pump beams are used in each stage and the gain regions of one gain medium element are spatially mapped onto the gain regions of the subsequent gain medium element. The spatially modulated optical pump beam may be generated by passing an input pump beam through an optical phase mask element.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.