Sdl Inc.

Jds Uniphase Corporation

Spectra Diode Laboratories, Inc.

Raydiance, Inc.

Xerox Corporation

Nlight, Incorporated

Nlight Photonics Corporation

Steritec Products Mfg. Co., Inc.

Robert G Waarts

David F Welch

Donald R Scifres

Steven Sanders

Robert J Lang

Stephen G Grubb

Raymond Zanoni

Jean-Luc Archambault

David G Mehuys

Stuart MacCormack

Jason N Farmer

Jo S Major

Derek W Nam

John G Endriz

Julian S Osinski

Amos A Hardy

David Kirtland Fork

William Streifer

Vincent G Dominic

Mehrdad Ziari

Thomas L Koch

Ross D Bringans

Michael Mielke

Edmund L Wolak

Laurent Vaissié

Paul Nathan Freeman

Andrew Devron Stadler

Richard R Craig

Kok-Hwee Ng

Kyungbum Kim

Stephen O'Brien

Ronii C Mehl

David M Giltner

Darshan Yeliyur Siddegowda

Adrian Ponce

Jake Douglas Knickerbocker

Dat Nguyen

Jenna Zimmerman

Mitchell London

Kenneth M Dzurko

Ian J Booth

Michael J Cumbo

Edward MacLeod Perkins

Robert L Thornton

Richard Alan Bradley, Jr

Kok Wai Chang

Mark J Farley

Bardia Pezeshki

G A Connell

Edward C Vail

Russell A Chipman

Brian F Ventrudo

Randall S Geels

Ross A Parke

Nigel Joseph Copner

Vincent Issier

David Goldman

John J Kingston

John deAndrea

Donals R Scifres

John Edgecumbe

Charles Andy Hulse

Jordan Crist

Amos Hardy

Florence E Leplingard

Jonas Webjorn

Sha Tong

Garnet Luick

Gang Lei

David C Dawson

Fritz Christo

Michael L Bortz

A biological indicator includes: a BI housing; a germinant container inside the BI housing and housing a germinant composition; a germinant releaser configured to release the germinant composition from the germinant container; a germinant releaser support supporting the germinant releaser and configured to bring the germinant releaser into contact with the germinant container upon application of a force to the germinant releaser support or the germinant container; a first spore carrier inside the BI housing, the first spore carrier having a plurality of spores deposited at a first surface thereof; and an imaging window at a first surface of the BI housing. A BI reader is configured to detect and quantify the presence of live spores in the BI, and includes an excitation source, a camera for capturing images of the spores over time, and a processor for analyzing the images to determine the presence of live spores.

Biological indicator reader systems for determining efficacy of sterilization

Biological indicators, and systems and methods for determining efficacy of sterilization

Multimode beam combiners include at least one gradient-step index optical fiber in which a refractive index difference at a core/cladding interface is selected to provide a numerical aperture so as to provide stable, uniform beam output. One or more such fibers is formed into a tapered bundle than can be shaped to provide a selected illuminated aperture. The fibers in the bundle can be separated by respective tapered claddings so as to be optically coupled or uncoupled. Illumination systems can include a plurality of such fibers coupled to a plurality of laser diodes or other light sources.

Multimode fiber combiners

Single mode fiber beam combiners are formed by extending single mode fibers through a glass ferrule, and tapering and fusing the fibers and the ferrule. Tapers can be selected so that optical power input to each of the single mode fibers remains partially guided by the single mode fiber cladding, or is guided by the multimode fiber formed by the glass ferrule and the fused fiber claddings. Such combiners can include double clad fibers or actively doped fibers for use in lasers or amplifiers.

Single mode fiber combiners

Scribing operations with reduced substrate heating can be provided by applying multiple optical pulses to a substrate within a time interval that is less than a material recombination time. Typically a series of pulses of durations of 5-200 ps with pulse energies of less than about 0.002 mJ can be applied at rates of about 1 MHz to about 30 MHz. Beam area and beam scanning are configured to provide substantial overlap so that material can be removed by cold ablation.

Fiber laser systems for cold ablation

A method of controlling an ultra-short pulse system is described comprising controlling an optical power within the ultra-short pulse system and control-system controlling a width of an optical pulse. In some embodiments, the method also comprises tuning a compressor by controlling a number of passes of the optical pulse through a Bragg grating to control the width of the optical pulse output from the compressor. In other embodiments, the method may comprise tuning a multi-pass stretcher by controlling a number of passes of the optical pulse through a loop of the multi-pass stretcher to control the width of the optical pulse output from the multi-pass stretcher. A method of controlling an ultra-short pulse system may also comprise accessing a control system from a remotely located command station, communicating status information from the control system to the command station, and communicating information from the command station to the control system.

Systems and methods for control of ultra short pulse amplification

An ultra-short pulsed laser system comprises an optical combiner, optical amplifier, optical pulse compressor, and optical separator. The optical combiner is configured to combine a primary optical pulse with a secondary optical signal to generate a combined optical signal. The primary optical pulse and the secondary optical signal have a distinguishable characteristic. The optical amplifier is configured to optically amplify the combined optical signal. The optical pulse compressor is configured to compress at least the primary optical pulse contained within the optically amplified combined optical signal and output a compressed combined optical signal. The optical separator is configured to separate the compressed combined optical signal into an output primary optical pulse and an output secondary optical signal according to the distinguishable characteristic.

Systems and methods for controlling a pulsed laser by combining laser signals

A chirped pulse amplification (CPA) system and method is described wherein the pulse is stretched using multiple passes through a Bragg grating or compressed using multiple passes through a Bragg grating. A switch may be used to control the number of passes through the Bragg grating, thus, tuning the compressed or the stretched pulse width. The pulse may be directed through an amplifier between the multiple passes through the Bragg grating to apply amplification to the stretched pulse multiple times. The Bragg grating may include a fiber Bragg grating, a volume Bragg grating, or a Bragg waveguide.

Pulse stretcher and compressor including a multi-pass Bragg grating

A diode-pumped laser with a direct edge coupling of a pump beam is provided. The laser includes a microchip laser cavity optically pumped by a laser diode emitting an astigmatic pump beam having a substantially elliptical beam cross-section at an output laser diode facet. The microchip laser cavity is disposed at a substantial distance exceeding 0.001&#x2033; from the laser diode pump where the astigmatic pump beam has a greatly reduced ellipticity, providing high laser output efficiency without coupling lens element between the laser cavity and the laser diode pump. The pumping arrangement is favourable for single-mode lasing. In some embodiments, the laser cavity includes nonlinear crystal for intra-cavity SHG, a saturable absorber for passive Q-switching and mode locking, and a polarizing prism.

Diode-pumped laser

The invention relates to the monitoring of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) using heterodyne detection for providing PMD compensation in optical networks, and an apparatus for monitoring PMD. In the present invention, a broadband PMD monitor is disclosed based on heterodyne detection with a tunable laser source which can be fed to a compensator such as an add/drop or other wavelength switch and polarization dependent attenuation means. A signal from a local oscillator is combined with an optical signal and the beat frequency amplitude and phase is analyzed for two orthogonal polarization states simultaneously to obtain a state of polarization. By averaging a plurality of polarization states within a channel, PMD can be estimated for compensation.

Method and apparatus for polarization mode dispersion monitoring in a multiple wavelength optical system

A laser apparatus is disclosed utilizing a laser diode having a reflective back facet and a front facet having a reflectance of less than about 1% for emitting an optical beam at a fundamental frequency along an optical path. A collimating lens is provided for collimating the optical beam into a collimated beam. A transmission grating is optically coupled to receive the collimated beam and returns a portion of the collimated beam back into the laser diode by means of diffraction through lens and the laser diode front facet. The laser diode reflective back facet and the transmission grating form an extended laser cavity. In operation, a substantial portion of the collimated beam is transmitted through the transmission grating for producing the laser output beam propagating along the optical path.

Extended cavity laser device with bulk transmission grating

A laser apparatus for generating optical pulses is disclosed, said laser apparatus has a reflecting gain element preferably including a fiber gain medium. The reflecting gain element is coupled to a controllable reflecting/transmitting module having a reflecting state and a transmitting state, wherein the controllable reflecting/transmitting means are operable to switch from the transmitting state to the reflecting state to initiate a build-up of an optical pulse, and to switch back to the transmitting state for outputting the optical pulse before it reaches the reflecting/transmitting means after a cavity roundtrip. In a preferred embodiment, the controllable reflecting/transmitting module includes an acousto-optic switch at an output end of a laser operable to output the optical pulse in zeroth diffraction order.

Pulsed laser apparatus and method

A laser apparatus for nonlinear conversion of light is disclosed utilizing a laser diode having a reflective back facet and a front facet having a reflectance of less than about 1% for emitting a multifrequency optical beam, and a nonlinear optical element for receiving the multifrequency optical beam and for generating a frequency-converted radiation. An external frequency-selective reflector is provided for power and spectral stabilization of the multifrequency optical beam, and for confining its optical spectrum within a bandwidth of efficient nonlinear conversion in the nonlinear optical element. The laser diode reflective back facet and the external frequency-selective reflector form an extended laser cavity. In operation, the multifrequency optical beam contains a plurality of longitudinal modes of the extended laser cavity which are confined within the frequency conversion bandwidth of the nonlinear element. The external frequency-selective reflector may comprise a waveguiding element such as a single-mode fiber incorporating a Bragg grating, and may also comprise a Fabry-Perot etalon.

Laser device for nonlinear conversion of light

An optical fiber gain medium has a core region in which a signal propagates, and a cladding region surrounding the core into which a pump signal is coupled. The gain medium also includes a plurality of doped regions each of which has a different effect on the gain profile of the gain medium. In a first embodiment, two doped regions are located in the cladding region at different radial distances from the core. Each of the two doped regions has a different absorption characteristic such that it absorbs signal energy in a different wavelength region of the gain band. The relative contributions may be controlled by controlling a number of different factors, including type of dopant, density of dopant, radial width of the doped regions, and relative separation between the doped regions, and their positioning relative to evanescent portions of different wavelength bands. In another embodiment, the different doped regions include dopant in the core and in a cladding region, and each dopant is pumped by a separate pump source. The relative contributions of the different dopants to the gain in the different wavelength ranges may be controlled by type of dopants used, density of doping, location of the dopant region in the cladding relative to the core and evanescent portions of different wavelength bands, and relative pump power and pump wavelengths provided to each doped region.

Optical fiber with improved cross-sectional profile and optical gain media using same

Growing community of inventors

Los Altos, CA, United States of America

Robert G Waarts