United Technologies Corporation

US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

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

Lanny M Laughman

Peter P Chenausky

Robert J Mongeon

Erroll H Drinkwater

Robert J Wayne

Ronald E Belek

Richard A Hart

Carl J Buczek

Nelson N Hoffman

The crystal is solid CdTe or GaAs for modulating a laser beam. The mount comprises Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 or BeO ceramic between the crystal and a U-shaped aluminum housing on three sides to provide low stray capacitance and high thermal conductivity to the cooled housing. A layer of lead between the ceramic and the housing enhances the acoustic damping of the structure. Electrodes are attached to the crystal, with lead used to enhance dissipation of acoustic energy. in contacting flexible tabs on the electrodes with terminals no pressure or stress is transmitted to the crystal, thereby eliminating a problem of stress-induced birefringence.

Low loss electro-optic modulator mount

Dual waveguide lasers which are transversely excited in parallel from a con source of radio frequency are provided with one or more channels or bores connecting the laser cavities. The dimensions and configuration of the connecting channels are chosen so that the electric field from the applied RF excitation source will be higher in the connecting channels than in either of the paralleled waveguide gas discharge cavities, or that the electron collision loss to the nearby ceramic and metallic walls will be lower in the connectiong channels than in the aforementioned waveguide cavities. The initial gas breakdown is thus made to preferentially occur in the connecting channels and thus force initiation of both laser cavities simultaneously.

Multiple parallel RF excited CO.sub.2 lasers

A method of fabricating CO.sub.2 waveguide type lasers of the type comprising a slot formed in a broad surface of a hard ceramic material, comprising grinding the slot in a conventional surface grinding machine in two steps. The first step utilizes a coarse grinding wheel and the second a finer grinding wheel. The resultant laser cavity can produce high optical power output when provided with RF excitation.

Ground slot waveguide laser

A laser employs a Fabry-Perot etalon, coupled to an optical cavity, to control either the power or the frequency of the laser substantially independently.

Coupled-cavity laser

A passively Q-switched laser system uses a common Q-switch cell to control two lasers. The first laser to turn on Q-switches the other laser.

Passively Q-switched dual laser

The intracavity modulated laser includes a main cavity and an adjacent coed cavity with a gain cell in the main cavity and an electro-optic modulator in the coupled cavity, the cavities being coupled in such a way that the energy level in the coupled cavity during laser operation is much lower than that in the main cavity, and whereby the modulator can selectively affect the polarization of energy in accordance with a voltage applied thereto to selectively couple energy out of both cavities in a desired manner.

Modulated infrared laser with two coupled cavities

An RF discharge waveguide laser is modulated by an electro-optic modulator positioned in a second optical cavity coupled to a gain cavity containing the waveguide.

Coupled waveguide freespace laser

Passively-Q-switched dual laser

An RF-discharge waveguide laser incorporates two or more waveguides sharing a common set of discharge electrodes. The device may be used to provide two lasers operating on the same or different frequencies, or a single laser with two waveguides contributing to the power output.

Twin waveguide laser

An RF-excited gas laser is improved by the addition of an inductor in parallel with a discharge resistance Rg and capacitance C.sub.wg to form a tuned circuit having a resonance frequency such that the real part of the complex impedance of the discharge chamber is matched to the output impedance of a driving oscillator and by the use of an input circuit that compensates for the imaginary part of the discharge chamber impedance.

Tuned-circuit RF-excited laser

An improved electrode configuration and method for the deposition of electrical power into an electric discharge laser having a gas path transversely disposed to an optical axis and the electric field is disclosed. The electrode configuration includes a cathode, having one or more common geometry rod elements of a thoriated material disposed transverse to a gas path and a planar anode disposed opposite the cathode in a parallel relationship thereto wherein the cathode and the anode define the gas path therebetween. The electrode configuration is adapted for operation without ballast resistance in the electrical circuit and without the utilization of preionization means. The electrode configuration provides a discharge having substantially diffuse and uniform characteristics within the discharge region.

Growing community of inventors

Bolton, CT, United States of America

Lanny M Laughman