High power optical cavity for end-pumped solid state laser

Patent · Tue Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 1993

OSTI ID:6229520

Shannon, D; Wallace, R W

Apparatus is described for producing a laser light beam of high output light beam power, the apparatus comprising: a pump light source to produce and issue a plurality of pump light beams that have a wavelength approximately equal to a predetermined wavelength [lambda][sub P]; a solid state laser gain crystal having first and second opposed planar surfaces, spaced apart and approximately parallel to each other, the crystal being positioned to receive the plurality of pump light beams at the first surface and to allow the pump light beams to propagate therethrough from the first surface to the second surface to excite the crystal so that the crystal produces and issues a light beam, and receives an incident light beam and amplifies and issues an amplified light beam, having a wavelength approximately equal to a predetermined wavelength [lambda][sub L], where the first surface of the crystal is transmitting for an incident light beam of wavelength [lambda][sub P] and is highly reflective for an incident light beam of wavelength [lambda][sub L] and the second surface of the crystal is highly transmitting for an incident light beam of wavelength [lambda][sub L]; a plurality of M reflecting surfaces numbered m = 1,2, . . ., M (M[ge]2), where the reflecting surfaces are positioned adjacent to one another and spaced apart from and facing the second surface of the laser gain crystal by a predetermined distance d and each reflecting surface has an approximately identical radius of curvature R, where reflecting surface number m receives a light beam from the crystal and reflects the light beam back to the crystal and the crystal receives and reflects this reflected light beam toward reflector number m + 1 (m = 1, . . . , M [minus] 1), and where the radius of curvature R and the distance d are chosen to provide a stable optical system and to compensate for a thermal lens that develops in a crystal that receives an incident pump light beam.

• Assignee: Lightwave Electronics Corp., Mountain View, CA (United States)
• Patent Number(s): US 5237584; A
• Application Number: PPN: US 7-790646
• OSTI ID: 6229520
• Resource Relation: Patent File Date: 8 Nov 1991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
SOLID STATE LASERS
DESIGN
AMPLIFICATION
CRYSTALS
EXCITATION
LASER CAVITIES
LASER MIRRORS
LASER RADIATION
LIGHT SOURCES
OPTICAL PUMPING
POSITIONING
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
LASERS
MIRRORS
PUMPING
RADIATION SOURCES
RADIATIONS
426002* - Engineering- Lasers & Masers- (1990-)