University of California

Other

The United States of America As Represented by the United States

The United States of America As Represented by the United States Energy

Foro Energy, Inc.

Wfk Lasers, LLC

Logos Technologies Holdco, Inc.

The United States of America As Represented by the Department of Energy

Logos Technologies LLC

William F Krupke

Stephen Anthony Payne

Raymond John Beach

David Eimerl

Ralph Henry Page

Howard T Powell

Christopher D Marshall

E Michael Campbell

Robert R Rice

Mark S Zediker

Brian O Faircloth

Jay Walter Dawson

E Victor George

Kathleen I Schaffers

Steven B Sutton

Laura D DeLoach

Lloyd L Chase

Lloyd A Hackel

Eric C Honea

Peter G Schunemann

John L Miller

Leland G Schlitt

Georg F Albrecht

John R Murray

Roger A Haas

Camille Bibeau

Clifford B Dane

Bruce H Chai

Marvin J Weber

John L Emmett

Michael C Nostrand

James C Swingle

Charles K Rhodes

Ralph R Jacobs

Edward V George

Herbert W Newkirk

Walter Sooy

Charles E Turner, Jr

Victor E George

Wayne L Kway

Larry K Smith

Embodiments of a laser system having an extremely large number of small pulsed lasers for irradiating small targets in inertial confinement fusion experiments, high energy density physics experiments, and inertial fusion power plants is more flexible than existing laser systems. Embodiments facilitate finer control of critical features of laser pulses for inertial fusion, as well as significant reduction in development costs and expansion of the community involved in the research relative to existing laser systems. Embodiments produce smooth intensity profiles at the target, large bandwidth that is over two orders of magnitude greater than existing laser systems, and fine control over laser wavelengths, focal properties, temporal pulse shape, and illumination geometry. Properties of each of the small pulsed lasers are individually selectable.

Flexible driver laser for inertial fusion energy

A diode pumped solid state laser is provided which includes a ruby crystal optical gain medium and a high bandgap semiconductor laser diode (LD) or light emitting diode (LED) pump source to directly optically pump the gain medium. The high-bandgap semiconductor LD or LED is a semiconductor device whose chemical composition is chosen to provide output radiation at an approximate wavelength of &#x2dc;405 nm. The ruby crystal produces laser output at the relatively short wavelength of &#x2dc;694 nm.

GaN pumped ruby laser

An apparatus and method are provided for producing an ultrashort pulsed output beam. A 694 nm pump beam from a first GaN semiconductor laser diode pumped, Q-switched ruby laser is directed into at least one amplifier that includes a broadband gain element doped with trivalent chromium ions (Cr). A spectrally linearly chirped low-intensity seed pulse from a master oscillator is directed into the at least one optically pumped amplifier to produce an amplified linear chirped pulsed output beam. A 694 nm second pump beam from a second GaN semiconductor laser diode pumped, Q-switched ruby laser is directed into a power amplifier that also includes a broadband gain element doped with trivalent chromium ions (Cr). The amplified linear chirped pulsed output beam is directed into the optically pumped power amplifier to produce a high energy linear chirped pulsed output beam which is then directed into a pulse compressor to produce the ultrashort pulsed output beam.

Ruby laser pumped ultrashort pulse laser

There are provided using deuterium oxide as a media for transmitting high power lasers to perform laser operations, such as cutting, boring and drilling, a target material. High power laser beams are transmitted through a deuterium oxide beam path to a target material, including material in a pressure containment vessel.

High power laser iris cutters

A continuous-wave (CW), ultraviolet triply-optically-pumped atomic laser (TOPAL) is disclosed. The inventive laser device includes a laser active media comprising a mixture of a neutral atomic vapor and one or more buffer gases. The gain mixture is placed within a segmented gain cell, allowing for periodic, selected spectral filtering of deleterious ASE transitions; the segmented gain cell, in turn, is placed within an optical cavity with a high Q at a specified ultraviolet wavelength, and is successively, resonantly excited by three drive pump lasers, in three energy-contiguous visible/IR electric-dipole allowed transitions, producing a steady-state electron population inversion density between a high-lying electronic energy level and the ground electronic level, and producing laser emission on a UV transition (within the spectral range &#x2dc;230 to &#x2dc;370 nm) terminating on the ground electronic level.

Ultraviolet triply-optically-pumped atomic lasers (TOPAL)

High power laser fluid jets and beam paths using deuterium oxide

An optically pumped sulfur monoxide (SO) molecular laser is presented. A near infrared pump light source generates a pump light at wavelengths that match wavelengths of a Q-branch or R-branch absorption transition of a b&#x3a3;excited electronic state of the SO molecule. The pump light is directed to a vessel containing a laser gain medium including gaseous SO and a buffer gas. The gaseous gain medium may be flowed through the region of output light extraction to remove waste heat deposited in the medium. In some examples output light is generated from any of the R-branch, Q-branch, or P-branch emission transitions between the v=0 vibrationless b&#x3a3;electronic state and the v=1 vibrational x&#x3a3;ground electronic state. In some other examples, output light is generated from P-branch emission transitions between the v=0 vibrationless b&#x3a3;electronic state and the v=0 vibrationless x&#x3a3;ground electronic state.

Optically-pumped sulfur monoxide molecular laser

A method and apparatus is provided for producing near-diffraction-limited laser light, or amplifying near-diffraction-limited light, in diode pumped alkali vapor photonic-band-gap fiber lasers or amplifiers. Laser light is both substantially generated and propagated in an alkali gas instead of a solid, allowing the nonlinear and damage limitations of conventional solid core fibers to be circumvented. Alkali vapor is introduced into the center hole of a photonic-band-gap fiber, which can then be pumped with light from a pump laser and operated as an oscillator with a seed beam, or can be configured as an amplifier.

Diode pumped alkali vapor fiber laser

Optically-pumped group IIB atomic vapor lasers emitting at discrete wavelengths shorter than 230 nm are disclosed. This laser device utilizes an active medium comprising a mixture of a group IIB atomic vapor and one or more buffer gases placed within a doubly-resonant optical cavity that enables the realization of a population inversion between the firstPlevel and theSground level of the group IIB atoms. The laser may operate in a pure continuous-wave mode, or in a high-repetition pulsed mode, at DUV wavelengths of &#x2dc;185 nm (mercury), &#x2dc;229 nm (cadmium) and &#x2dc;214 nm (zinc).

Optically-pumped DUV atomic vapor lasers

Optically-pumped mid-infrared vibrational-rotational transition gas lasers and amplifiers with improved efficiency and practicality. Inventive laser and amplifier devices include: laser active media comprising a mixture of alkali vapor, selected hetero-nuclear molecular gas, and one or more buffer gases; conventional semiconductor laser diode pump sources with nanometer scale spectral bandwidths; and preferential laser emission in ro-vibrational transitions among relatively low-lying vibrational levels.

Diode pumped alkali-molecular lasers and amplifiers

Compact, high-power, near-diffraction-limited sources of radiation in the near infrared spectral region are provided by a new class of power amplifiers that can be pumped by conventional high-power, multimode, relatively-broadband 1-D and 2-D laser diode arrays, where the pumped amplifier gain medium is an atomic vapor of one of the alkali elements (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs), buffered with a mixture of rare-gas (He, Ar, Kr, Ne, or Xe) and selected molecular gases. Given the central role of the alkali atomic vapor as the entity providing amplifier gain, this new type of amplifier is herein designated as the diode-pumped alkali amplifier (DPAA).

Diode-pumped alkali amplifier

A new class of lasers is provided that can be pumped by conventional high-power, multi-mode, broadband 1-D and 2-D laser diode arrays with spectral widths greater than 0.01 nm, where the pumped laser gain medium comprises an atomic vapor of one the alkali elements (Li, Na, K, Rb or Cs), buffered with a mixture of rare-gas (He, Ar, Kr, Ne or Xe) and selected molecular gases. The alkali atom gain medium is pumped at a wavelength matching the wavelength of theS&#x2013;Pelectric-dipole-allowed transition (the Dtransition). After kinetic relaxation of pump excitation to the excitedPelectronic level, laser emission takes place on theP&#x2013;Stransition (the Dtransition).

Diode-pumped alkali lasers (DPALs) and amplifiers (DPAAs) with reduced buffer gas pressures

Growing community of inventors

Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

William F Krupke