Monolithic, non-planar ring laser with Q-switched single-frequency operation
US6002704A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 16, 1998 |
| Grant date | Dec 14, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 16, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/113
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A monolithic, non-planar ring laser having Q-switched single-frequency operation comprises a diode laser as the pumping light source of which the pumping light is coupled to a ring laser crystal (2) that comprises at least three total reflection faces B, C and D and a dielectrically coated crystal face A designed as a coupling and decoupling mirror. To obtain high-power laser pulses in the highly stable single-frequency mode and further to achieve compactness, the following design solutions are offered: 1. A switching crystal (20) having an appropriate index of refraction which can be moved to a distance of about one laser beam wavelength to one of the total reflection faces B, C, D of the ring laser crystal (2) to decouple the evanescent wave field and thereby to suppress laser oscillation, said switching crystal being displaceable away from the total reflection face to generate laser pulses, 2. The ring laser crystal (2) is composed of a laser material having saturable losses at the lasing transition (lasing wavelength), 3. The ring laser crystal (30) consists of at least one active laser material crystal (32, 34) and of a further crystal (36) made of a saturable absorber materia…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.