Schwartz Electro-Optics, Inc.

Schwartz Electro-Optic, Inc.

James Harrison

Peter F Moulton

Glen Allan Rines

Robert J Martisen

Andrew Finch

A transversely pumped solid state laser includes: a solid state gain medium having thickness, width and longitudinal dimensions; means for forming a laser cavity with the medium for generating a laser beam along the longitudinal dimension; and a semiconductor laser pump source for directing a collimated pump beam to the medium along the width dimension transversely to the longitudinal dimension constrained toward the center of the medium and having a width which is substantially shorter than the longitudinal dimension of the medium for spacing the edges of the collimated beam away from the longitudinal ends of the medium to reduce thermomechanical distortion of the longitudinal ends of the medium and consequent distortion of the laser beam.

Transversely pumped solid state laser

A prism gain module is placed in a resonator for generating or amplifying coherent light energy. The module has a first and second side each with a planar surface. The surfaces are partially coated with a reflective material. The first and second sides are angled so that a resonator beam path is formed within the module such that coherent light energy enters an uncoated surface on the first side of the module of Brewster's angle, reflects off of the reflective material on the second and first sides, and then exits the module through the second side with an exit angle also equal to Brewster's angle. The prism gain module provides pump position flexibility by permitting coherent light energy to pump the gain module from multiple sides so long as the coherent light energy is focused along the beam path.

Prism gain module and method

A wavelength-tunable, injection-seeded, dispersion-compensated, dispersively-pumped solid state laser includes a lasing medium; a highly reflective mirror; an output coupler; at least one isosceles Brewster prism oriented to the minimum deviation angle between the medium and the mirror for directing light of different wavelengths along different paths; means for varying the angle of the highly reflective mirror relative to the light from at least one Brewster angle for selecting a predetermined laser operating wavelength; a dispersion compensation apparatus associated with the lasing medium; a laser injection seeding port disposed between the dispersion compensation apparatus and one of the mirror and coupler and including a reflective surface at an acute non-Brewster angle to the laser beam for introducing a seed input; a dispersion compensation apparatus associated with the laser medium including opposite chirality optical elements; the lasing medium including a pump surface disposed at an acute angle to the laser beam to define a discrete path for the pumping laser beam separate from the pumped laser beam.

Solid state laser

A laser apparatus and method is provided for easily converting between standing-wave and ring-cavity configurations, by providing an optical coupler and an end mirror which are movable between retro-reflective and fold-reflective conditions.

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Cambridge, MA, United States of America

James Harrison