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:
Jul. 30, 1996
Filed:
May. 10, 1995
Geard A Mourou, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
John A Nees, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Abstract
The invention provides a method and apparatus for generating high pulse energy, short optical pulses having relatively high contrast. The system comprises a diode laser to seed a compact diode pumped amplifier, and comprises pulse shaping and cleaning elements to achieve relatively high energies and high contrast. The system is not locked to a fixed repetition rate as it is controlled by an electronic trigger. The system of the invention comprises a selectively triggered pulse source (asynchronous) which is coupled to pulse amplifying/pulse shaping means, which is coupled to pulse cleaning means, which is further coupled to a chirped pulse amplification (CPA) system. The method of the invention comprises the general steps of: (1) selectively triggering a pulse source; (2) amplifying the pulse and shaping it; (3) increasing contrast of the pulse utilizing a preferred, passive, nonlinear pulse cleaner; and (4) increasing the energy of the pulse and decreasing its pulse width by chirped pulse amplification (CPA) means. In the method of the invention, steps (2) and (3) may be repeated in order to achieve a desired energy intensity and contrast.