United Technologies Corporation

Other

US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Coherent, Inc.

Qsource, Inc.

Peter P Chenausky

Lanny M Laughman

Robert J Wayne

Erroll H Drinkwater

Vernon A Seguin

Robert J Mongeon

Robert J Freiberg

Carl J Buczek

Leon A Newman

David W Fradin

Eric R Mueller

Richard A Hart

Lanny Laughman

Anthony J DeMaria

Robert H Bullis

William H Glenn

Ronald E Belek

Christian J Shackleton

Clyde O Brown

Frank R Biancardi

Robert Henschke

William J Green, Jr

Nelson N Hoffman

Ernest B Manning, Deceased

A pulsed COlaser is Q-switched by an intracavity acousto-optic (AO) Q-switch including an AO material transparent at a fundamental wavelength of the laser. In one example the AO material is germanium.

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Through the use of a relatively inexpensive third mirror on a novel folded hybrid unstable resonator configuration, the optimum output coupling for a given laser design can be explored quickly and easily with a minimum of intracavity mirror alignment. No changes in either the radii of curvature of the three cavity optics or their spacing are required for this exploration. In addition to providing techniques for purposefully and systematically introducing mirror edge effects or avoiding edges effects altogether, the invention provides that output beams of different width can be advantageously explored in a relatively simple and straightforward manner. The invention provides that higher geometric magnification cavity designs may be made compatible with low diffraction output coupling in a configuration that uses only three totally reflecting optics.

Unstable resonator with variable output coupling

An improved laser system includes a sealed-off, RF excited, diffusion cooled, high pressure, short pulsed, high peak power waveguide and slab COlaser that avoids problems typically associated with obtaining a diffused discharge at high gas pressures, without arcing and without corona, while maintaining the unsaturated gain and gas temperature experienced at low pressures and scaling to higher pressures. Such a system has a long operating life-time, and is capable of operation at high gas pressures to obtain relative fast rise and fall time pulses. The system emits relatively short pulse widths, with pulse energies up to and exceeding 30 mJ, with reasonably high pulse repetition rates. The system also has a low pulsed RF power duty cycle, thereby enabling the generation of high peak power pulses, as well as reasonable average power and reasonably high peak powers.

The performance of an RF excited gas laser having a discharge region with a generally curvilinear orthogonal cross-section, the shorter of the two dimensions of the discharge region cross-section being the spacing between non-conductive sidewalls which collisionally cool the discharge and are rotatable for guiding laser light, is enhanced by excitation field shaping. The field shaping includes use of a non-conductive member disposed between a high voltage field establishing electrode and a sidewall of the discharge region.

Slice laser

A transverse RF pumped gas laser has a large area discharge which is of generally rectangular shape in all plan views. In cross-section the geometry of the discharge has a longer and a shorter dimension, the longer dimension being between the electrodes to which RF power is supplied and the shorter dimension, suitable for guiding intracavity laser light, being defined by ceramic side walls.

Retangular discharge gas laser

Co-ionization of the gas in the optical cavity of a laser, the laser employing only two electrodes, is accomplished by employing a low energy source to commute a non-switched higher energy source. The low energy source will generate a discharge in the laser medium thereby causing power to be deposited from the higher energy source into the laser medium.

Preionized transversely excited laser

An RF transformer employs at least three elongated conductive elements in generally parallel spaced relationship. At least a first inductive element is connected between a pair of the conductive elements to provide a desired field distribution. A diagnostic technique for determining the frequency shift of the transformer employs a perturbing object which is selectively longitudinally positioned within the transformer. The transformer has particular utility as an RF excited gas laser.

RF transformer and diagnostic technique therefor

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 heterodyne CO.sub.2 optical Doppler radar comprising a ring type of traitter laser and twin local oscillator lasers which are automatically controlled to operate at a difference frequency equal to the intermediate frequency of the radar, which may be in the VHF band. The output of one of the twin lasers is injected into the transmitter laser for stabilization purposes and the output of the other of the twin lasers is heterodyned with the received target return signals to form the radar's intermediate frequency signal.

Injection controlled laser transmitter with twin local oscillators

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.

Growing community of inventors

Avon, CT, United States of America

Peter P Chenausky