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:
May. 01, 2000
Filed:
Aug. 17, 1997
Jaymin Amin, Corning, NY (US);
John Andrew Aust, Boulder, CO (US);
Norman A Sanford, Boulder, CO (US);
Mark P Bendett, Plymouth, MN (US);
Abstract
A rare-earth-doped waveguide device which exhibits stable cw laser and amplifier operation for near-infrared optical pumping in a room-temperature environment is provided. The waveguide device is comprised of an x- or y-cut LiNbO.sub.3 substrate on which metal-diffused channel optical waveguides are formed parallel to, or nearly parallel to, the crystallographic z-axis. The LiNbO.sub.3 substrate is rare-earth doped either by thermal diffusion of single or multiple rare-earth ions. Alternatively, the rare-earth doped substrate is doped with rare-earth ions during the growth of the crystal from which the substrate was prepared with additional thermal diffusion of rare-earth dopants as required. This orientation of the waveguide channel substantially parallel to the crystallographic z-axis permits reliable laser and amplifier action without the destabilizing effects of photorefractive optical damage.