Vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays pumped solid-state lasers
US7430231B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 28, 2006 |
| Grant date | Sep 30, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 5, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/1673
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Solid-state lasers pumped by incoherent or partially coherent, monochromatic light sources such as high power VCSEL arrays. Efficient and uniform injection of pumping energy into gain medium is achieved through spectral match of the pump source with the gain medium absorption and multi-bounce reflections of unabsorbed pump light in a diffusing pump chamber. One preferred embodiment of the diffusing pump chamber is a hollow cylinder coaxially surrounding the gain medium. One or more transparent windows, slit-shaped or otherwise, for transmission of pump light are evenly distributed around the perimeter of the chamber and are parallel to the axis. Another preferred embodiment of the diffusing pump chamber is a highly reflecting compound parabolic concentrator. A 2-D VCSEL array is employed as the pump source and the gain medium is located at the focusing point of the chamber. This invention demonstrates solid-state lasers that are compact, robust, low-cost, and able to produce high power output in CW or pulse modes for practical applications. An important application of the present invention is high-power solid-state lasers featuring wavelength conversion such as optical parametric o…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.