Laser apparatus
US7970039B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 23, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jun 28, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 2, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/2308
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
In a first embodiment, the invention makes use of a Neodymium doped YAG (Nd:YAG) gain medium placed in an optical resonant cavity formed by two mirrors. Power extraction is maximized for a specific laser cavity. In particular the concave curvature on the rod ends contributes a negative lensing component to modify the strength of the thermal lens. In a second embodiment the present invention uses an amplifier rod medium with curved ends to act as lensing elements to collect emission from the laser gain medium and/or oscillator described in the first embodiment of the invention. The combination of thermal lens and curved rod ends produces a lensing effect which allows light to be directly coupled from a laser. In addition, variation of the input pump power allows for control of the thermal lens formed within the amplifier rod.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.