Lightwave Electronics Corporation

Lightwave Electronics Co.

Leonard P Pearson

Richard W Wallace

William M Grossman

David G Scerbak

Thomas James Kane

John A Dutcher

Todd E Olson

Martin A Gifford

Hop G Nguyen

Compact solid state laser apparatus that includes a laser diode pump, beam forming optics, a laser gain medium and optical resonator, a photodetector to vary the power supplied to the laser diode pump to suppress relaxation oscillations that might otherwise appear in the laser gain medium output light beam, an optical isolator and laser output optics. Each of the optical components has an independently activatable heater to allow optical alignment of that component. Each of the laser diode pump and laser gain medium has an independently activatable thermoelectric cooler to allow optical alignment (laser gain medium only) and to provide thermal tuning of the output wavelength of that device. An optical platform, which is thermally conductive, electrically non-conductive and has low thermal expansion, supports the other components, provides a substrate for electrical traces that provide power for operation of the apparatus and contains the heaters for the optical components.

Efficient laser configuration

A miniature laser cavity in which a solid-state lasing gain element and a Q-switch have respective end surfaces at substantially the Brewster angle, parallel to and facing each other, and separated by a narrow gap occupied by a transparent low-index-of-refraction material.

Laser with Brewster angled-surface Q-switch alinged co-axially

A diode imaging system using a single objective lens and a single cylindrical lens. This imaging system does not image perfectly point-to-point, and although not an apparent extension of imaging systems known in the prior art, it works advantageously for imaging beams from diode lasers having long narrow junctions used in pumping solid-state lasers.

Laser diode light imaging optics

A diode pumped Nd:YAG laser is disclosed wherein the YAG laser rod is supported from the envelope of the pumping diode by means of telescoping glass tubes bonded together by means of u.v. curing adhesive. The diode pumped laser is supported from a heat sink via the intermediary of a pair of rotatable wedges for adjusting the tilt of the optical axis of the laser. A gradient refractive index lens focuses the pump radiation into the laser rod. The lens is adhered directly to the output window of the pump diode by means of refractive index matching adhesive.

Diode pumped solid state laser

In a monolithic ring laser, the ring laser crystal is mounted in a monolithic heated support structure including a layer of solder which is readily softened by elevating the temperature of the heater to permit adjustment and readjustment of the optical alignment of the crystal. The monolithic crystal support includes a block of thermally insulative material interposed between the heating element and the surrounds for thermally isolating the heater and laser crystal from the surrounds.

Ring laser and method of making same

A diode pumped Nd:YAG laser is disclosed. The YAG rod is coated on its ends to define an optical resonator containing the YAG rod. The YAG rod is made sufficiently short, i.e., 1 mm, so that it will support only two axial resonant (lasing) modes. The rod is transversely stressed to polarize the two original modes and to excite a third lasing mode orthogonally polarized to the first two modes. The third mode is separated from the first two modes to provide stable, single mode TEM.sub.001 output. The transverse stress is applied by means of a spring clamp made of a material, Be-Cu, having a low temperature coefficient.

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Leonard P Pearson