Raytheon Company

Hughes Aircraft Company

Hughes Electronics Corporation

The Boeing Company

Delco Electronics Corporation

Ofs Fitel, LLC

David Alan Rockwell

Vladimir V Shkunov

Alexander A Betin

Metin S Mangir

Fabio Di Teodoro

Ray E McVey

Robert William Byren

Robin A Reeder

Monica L Minden

Friedrich P Strohkendl

David John DiGiovanni

Thomas R O'Meara

Hans W Bruesselbach

Ronald Regis Stephens

Richard L Abrams

Scott T Johnson

Craig Schulz

Dennis J Trevor

Brian F Boland

John L Bartelt

Joseph J Ichkhan

Dennis C Jones

Richard C Lind

Marco A Avila

Concetto R Giuliano

John Schroeder

Douglas W Wolfe

Jeffrey O White

David J Digiovanni

James Randolph Mulroy

David H Matsuoka

Victor Khitrov

Joshua Nathan Wentlandt

Jeffrey Dean Harlow

Joseph Ichikhan

Joshua N Wentlandt

A system includes multiple laser diode modules that are spatially separated and configured to generate multiple optical beams that propagate at angles relative to each other. The system also includes an optical element having at least one entrance surface and at least one exit surface. The optical element is configured to receive the optical beams at the at least one entrance surface and output each optical beam through the at least one exit surface such that the output optical beams are closely spaced, substantially the same size, and substantially parallel to each other at a common distance downstream from the optical element, and the optical beams all share a common downstream image plane.

High-brightness spatial beam combining of laser modules yielding a common image plane

A system includes a signal seeder configured to generate a pulsed seed signal, where the signal seeder includes a master oscillator configured to generate an optical signal at a first wavelength. The system also includes a series of optical preamplifiers collectively configured to amplify the pulsed seed signal and generate an amplified signal. The system further includes a Raman fiber amplifier configured to amplify the amplified signal and generate a Raman-shifted amplified signal. The Raman fiber amplifier is configured to shift a wavelength of the amplified signal to a second wavelength different than the first wavelength during generation of the Raman-shifted amplified signal.

High-pulse-contrast fiber laser transmitters

A system includes a seed laser configured to generate a seed beam and multiple arrays of semiconductor diode lasers configured to generate multiple pump beams. The system also includes a Raman amplifier having a core, a first cladding around the core, and at least a second cladding around the first cladding. The core is configured to amplify the seed beam based on optical pump power provided by the pump beams. Each of the core, the first cladding, and the second cladding includes fused silica, and at least the core and the first cladding are doped. The core has a numerical aperture of approximately 0.06 or less and a diameter of approximately 20 &#x3bc;m to approximately 25 &#x3bc;m. The first cladding has a numerical aperture of approximately 0.17 or less and a diameter of approximately 35 &#x3bc;m to approximately 45 &#x3bc;m.

Raman amplifier supporting high output power and high beam quality

An apparatus includes at least one Raman medium configured to receive a pump beam and shift at least a portion of the pump beam into a Stokes-shifted output beam. The apparatus also includes a first lens configured to receive and focus the pump beam into the at least one Raman medium. The apparatus further includes first and second retro-lens assemblies, each including at least one prism configured to reflect beams from the at least one Raman medium back into the at least one Raman medium and multiple second lenses configured to control optical propagation of the beams entering and exiting the at least one Raman medium. Multiple pairs of lenses form multiple confocal arrangements of lenses. The pairs of lenses include the first lens and the second lenses of the retro-lens assemblies. The at least one Raman medium is optically positioned between the lenses in the confocal arrangements of lenses.

Compact Raman laser capable of efficient operation at low peak powers with good beam quality

An apparatus includes a base having walls that define a track. The track has input and output ends and defines a coiled path that spirals inward from the input end, reaches an inflection point where a direction of curvature is reversed, and spirals outward towards the output end. The track is configured to receive and maintain a majority of an optical fiber in an at least substantially planar coiled arrangement. The apparatus also includes a first transition arm positioned at the input end and a second transition arm positioned at the output end. Each transition arm is configured to be mechanically coupled to the base and includes a groove configured to receive and maintain a portion of the optical fiber in an at least substantially straight orientation. The walls and transition arms are configured to maintain thermal contact with the optical fiber along its entire length.

Compact package for high-aspect-ratio rectangular (HARR) optical fiber or other optical fiber

An apparatus includes an optical fiber configured to transport an optical signal. A cross-section of the optical fiber has a longer slow-axis dimension and a shorter fast-axis dimension. The optical fiber includes a core configured to receive and amplify the optical signal, end features optically coupled to the core at opposite ends of the core, and a cladding surrounding the core and end features. The core has a height in the slow-axis dimension and a width in the fast-axis dimension. Each end feature has a height in the slow-axis dimension and a width in the fast-axis dimension. The core has a lower bend loss than the end features. The optical fiber is configured to confine optical power of a fundamental mode in the core and allow optical power of higher-order mode(s) to leak from the core into the end features. Each end feature's height is less than the core's width.

Optical fiber for light amplification having a core with low bend loss and end features with high bend loss and related method

A system includes a waveform generator configured to generate a pulsed laser beam at a first wavelength. The system also includes at least one splitter configured to split the laser beam into multiple beams at the first wavelength. The system also includes at least one wavelength shifter configured to shift at least one of the multiple beams to another wavelength. The system also includes at least one combiner configured to combine the multiple beams into a multi-wavelength beam in which multiple wavelengths are co-aligned and propagating parallel to each other. The system also includes at least one nonlinear crystal configured to receive the multi-wavelength beam and generate multiple co-propagating beams using nonlinear wavelength conversion.

System and method for generating multiple simultaneous, co-propagating wavelengths via nonlinear wavelength conversion

In various embodiments, an optical fiber module including an optical fiber having a first end, a second end, and a twisted portion between the first and second ends to enable the optical fiber to provide two orthogonal transverse bending degrees of freedom. The twisted portion induces an optical distortion. The module further includes a distortion compensation arrangement that is configured to at least partially compensate for the optical distortion and a housing that is configured to house at least a portion of the optical fiber including the twisted portion.

Method and apparatus for implementing a rectangular-core laser beam-delivery fiber that provides two orthogonal transverse bending degrees of freedom

An apparatus includes an optical fiber configured to transport an optical signal. The optical fiber includes a core configured to receive and amplify the optical signal. The optical fiber also includes end features optically coupled to opposite ends of the core. The core has a lower bend loss than the end features. The optical fiber further includes a cladding surrounding the core and the end features. The optical fiber is configured to confine optical power of a fundamental mode in the core. The optical fiber is also configured to allow optical power of one or more higher-order modes to leak from the core into the end features.

In various embodiments, an optical fiber includes a core having a relatively large area selected so as to raise a threshold of stimulated Raman scattering or stimulated Brillouin scattering, or both, the core having a high aspect ratio elongated cross-section and having a first refractive index. The core is narrower in a fast-axis direction and wider in a slow-axis direction, such that the fiber is mechanically flexible in the fast-axis direction and is mechanically rigid in the slow-axis direction.

Method and apparatus for fiber delivery of high power laser beams

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a Raman generator includes a Raman medium and one or more optical elements. The Raman medium is configured to receive a pump pulse at a first wavelength and shift at least a portion of the pump pulse energy or power into a Stokes-shifted pulse at a second wavelength. The one or more optical elements are configured to pass the pump pulse and the Stokes-shifted pulse multiple times through the Raman medium. Each pass of the pulses through the Raman medium follows a path. Each path is parallel or anti-parallel to the other paths.

Compact Raman generators

High aspect ratio core optical fiber designs, which could be semi-guiding, including a core region having a first refractive index and a high aspect ratio elongated cross-section along a slow axis direction, are described. An internal cladding having a second refractive index sandwiches the core and acts as a fast-axis signal cladding. The core has an edge region at both of its short edges that is in contract with edge-cladding regions having a barbell shape. The refractive index of the core regions, the refractive index of the internal claddings, and the refractive index of the edge-cladding regions, are selected so as to maximize the optical power of a lowest-order mode propagating in the fiber core, and to minimize the optical power of the next-order modes in the fiber core. A process to fabricate such a high aspect ratio core fiber is also provided.

Barbell optical fiber and method of making the same

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a system for producing a higher power laser beam is provided. The system includes an optical fiber having a length. The optical fiber is configured to receive inputs from multiple laser pumps and an input from a Stokes seed laser pump. The optical fiber has a core that is doped. The core, when viewed from a cross-section of the optical fiber, has a higher concentration of doping at a location near an axis of the optical fiber than a location further from the axis of the optical fiber. The optical fiber is also configured to convert pump power to Stokes power along the length of the optical fiber when subjected to a Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) process.

Method and apparatus for high-power raman beam-combining in a multimode optical fiber

A method includes accumulating optical pump power in a first laser gain medium during a first period of time, where the first laser gain medium is optically located within a resonator. The method also includes providing at least some of the accumulated optical pump power as a first laser output with a feedback-controlled waveform from the first laser gain medium to a second laser gain medium during a second period of time, where the second period of time is substantially shorter than the first period of time. The method further includes generating a second laser output having a burst of laser pulses using the second laser gain medium as a power amplifier. The first and second laser outputs have higher power levels during the second period of time compared to a power level of the optical pump power during the first period of time.

Method and apparatus for temporally concentrating pump power to support generation of high peak-power pulse bursts or other time-varying laser output waveforms

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Culver City, CA, United States of America

David Alan Rockwell