Universitaet Stuttgart Institut Fuer Strahlwerkzeuge

Steffen Erhard

Adolf Giesen

Christian Stewen

Andreas Voss

Martin Karszewski

Karsten Contag

The invention relates to a laser amplifier system consisting of a solid body, which comprises a laser-active medium, of a pumping radiation source for generating a pumping radiation field, which repeatedly permeates the solid body, and of a focusing system. Said focusing system generates a number of different branches of the pumping radiation field that enter the solid body and converts at least one branch emerging from the solid body into one of the branches which enter the solid body and which are different from the emerging branch. The aim of the invention is to improve a laser amplifier system of the aforementioned type in order to be able to generate the highest possible pumping power density in the solid body while requiring the smallest possible amount of complexity. To this end, the focusing system comprises at least one deviating unit which converts, by deviating the radiation field with regard to a single plane of symmetry, at least two first partial branches formed from at least two different branches of the pumping radiation field emerging from the solid into at least two corresponding second partial branches which locally extend in a manner that is separate from the first partial branches and of which at least two branches entering the solid body are formed.

Laser amplifier system

The invention relates to a laser amplifier system consisting of a solid body, which comprises a laser-active medium, of an excitation source for producing an excited state of the laser-active medium, and of an amplifier radiation field, which repeatedly permeates the solid body and out of which a laser beam can be decoupled. The aim of the invention is to improve a laser-amplifier system of this type so that the highest number of passages of the amplifier radiation field through the solid body can be attained using optical means that are provided in the most simple possible form. To this end, the invention provides radiation field guiding optics which enable the amplifier radiation field to enter the solid body in the form of a number of incident branches with locally different trajectories, and which enable the amplifier radiation field to exit the solid body in the form of at least one emerging branch with a trajectory that differs locally from those of the incident branches. In addition, the radiation field guiding optics comprise at least one deviating unit which, out of at least one of the branches emerging from the solid body, forms a branch which enters the solid body and which has a trajectory that differs locally from that of said emerging branch.

In order to improve a laser amplification system, comprising a solid-state body having a laser-active medium, a pumping radiation source for generating a pumping radiation field which passes through the solid-state body several times, an optical pumping radiation imaging means which is arranged between the pumping radiation source and the solid-state body and focuses a leg of the pumping radiation field entering the solid-state body onto the solid-state body and at least one optical refocusing means which focuses a leg of the pumping radiation field exiting from the solid-state body onto the solid-state body again in the form of a leg entering the solid-state body and different to the outgoing leg, in such a manner that as high a pumping radiation power density as possible can be generated in the solid-state body with as little resources as possible it is suggested that the optical refocusing means reshape the leg exiting from the solid-state body into an intermediately collimated leg and reshape the intermediately collimated leg again into the leg entering the solid-state body again and focused onto it.

Laser amplification system

In order to provide a laser amplification system comprising several solid-state volumes having a laser-active medium, a pumping radiation source, a pumping radiation reflector which allows a leg of the pumping radiation field entering the solid-state volume to pass through the solid-state volume again as outgoing leg such that the incoming leg and the outgoing leg form a first pumping branch, a first pumping radiation path, in which the pumping radiation field passes through the first pumping branches in a first sequence, with which the individual solid-state volumes are acted upon with pumping power as uniformly as possible, it is suggested that each solid-state volume be penetrated by a second pumping branch, the incoming leg of which and the outgoing leg of which are located in a second plane different to the first plane, that a second pumping radiation path be provided, in which the pumping radiation field passes through the second pumping branches in a second sequence and that in the second sequence the order of the solid-state volumes be changed in relation to the first sequence.

Growing community of inventors

Gaeufelden, Germany

Steffen Erhard