The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 06, 1991
Filed:
Feb. 21, 1990
Leon Esterowitz, Springfield, VA (US);
Roger E Allen, Alexandria, VA (US);
Gregory J Kintz, Mountain View, CA (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
A laser system employing thulium and holmium in a trivalent state. The quantum levels of interest in the thulium and holmium are coupled so that one pumping photo absorbed by the thulium results in two photons emitted by the holmium, making for an unusually efficient laser system. The lower level is sufficiently depopulated at room temperature to allow laser operation without cryogenics. In preferred embodiments, the laser pump can be a laser diode, itself especially efficient, and whose output frequency is closely matched in photon energy to the thulium quantum state of interest, thus lending additional efficiency to the overall system. The thulium and the holmium exist in an yttrium-aluminum garnet crystal as lattice replacements for yttrium.