United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Jonathan T Goldstein

Melvin C Ohmer

David E Zelmon

Geoff Fair

Heedong Lee

HyunJun Kim

A method and system for generating an optical fiber is provided. The method includes creating a green fiber consisting primarily of a ceramic material and sintering the green fiber with a laser by moving the green fiber through a beam of the laser to increase the density of the fiber after sintering. The system for creating a continuous optical fiber includes an extruder, a processing chamber and a laser. The extruder is configured to extrude a ceramic slurry as a green fiber. The processing chamber is configured to receive and process the green fiber. And, the laser is configured to direct a laser spot on the green fiber exiting the processing chamber to sinter the green fiber.

Laser sintering of ceramic fibers

A method of imparting birefringence in a III-V compound semiconductor for sustaining the non linear optical process of second harmonic generation, a birefringent III-V compound semiconductor, and a product of the process are described.

Method of imparting birefringence in a III-V compound semiconductor

A solid state laser device made from a nonlinear optic quaternary alloy of Silver, Gallium, Selenium and Tellurium semiconductor material or Silver, Gallium, Sulfur and Tellurium semiconductor material. The Tellurium component in each alloy provides quaternary alloying anion modification of an underlying ternary semiconductor crystal and achieves tuning of the birefringence and tuning of the wavelength passband of the semiconductor material. The tuned quaternary alloy enables beam walkoff-free noncritical phase match operation of the laser device including use of a phase match angle supporting optimum use of the material's nonlinear properties, maximized useful length of the material crystal, room temperature wavelength changing operation, significantly increased second order nonlinear susceptibility, a factor of ten reduction in the walk-off angle and photon energy conversion efficiencies several times those usually achieved. The Tellurium alloy component also accomplishes shifting of the semiconductor material energy absorption characteristic to avoid a preferred laser pump wavelength energy absorption peak and assists in circumvention of the thermal lensing phenomenon in the crystal. The accomplished laser device provides infrared energy output while operating in for example either the second harmonic generation or the optical parametric oscillation configurations. Examples involving both related materials and the ultimate quaternary materials are included.

Telluride quaternary nonlinear optic materials

A solid state laser device made from a nonlinear optic quaternary alloy of Silver, Gallium, Selenium and Tellurium semiconductor material or Silver, Gallium, Sulfur and Tellurium semiconductor material. The Tellurium component in each alloy provides quaternary alloying anion modification of an underlying ternary semiconductor crystal and achieves tuning of the birefringence and tuning of the wavelength passband of the semiconductor material. The tuned quaternary alloy enables beam walkoff-free noncritical phase match operation of the laser device including use of a phase match angle supporting optimum use of the material's nonlinear properties, maximized useful length of the material crystal, room temperature wavelength changing operation, significantly increased second order nonlinear susceptibility, a factor of ten reduction in the walk-off angle and photon energy conversion efficiencies several times those usually achieved. The Tellurium alloy component also accomplishes shifting of the semiconductor material energy absorption characteristic to avoid a preferred laser pump wavelength energy absorption peak and assists in circumvention of the thermal lensing phenomenon in the crystal. The accomplished laser device provides infrared energy output while operating in for example either the second harmonic generation or the optical parametric oscillation configurations. Examples involving both related materials and the sought after quaternary materials are included.

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Centerville, OH, United States of America

Jonathan T Goldstein