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Title: Frequency adding lasers and optical amplifiers

Patent ·
OSTI ID:6183758

A method is described for creating population inversions for use in stimulated emission devices which beam combine, beam cleanup, or frequency up-convert electromagnetic radiation, comprising: (a) providing a multilevel quantum medium; (b) providing pump beams for near resonantly enhanced multiphoton pumping of the multilevel quantum medium, the multilevel quantum medium having atoms or molecules with three or more energy levels whose transition energies are near resonant with the pump beams, the near resonantly enhanced multiphoton pumping being defined such that each pump beam photon energy is close to but not equal to a transition energy between two energy levels of the multilevel quantum medium, thus producing small single photon detunings between the pump beams and the energy levels, these small single photon detunings thereby defining interacting energy levels of the multilevel quantum medium; and directing the pump beams into the multilevel quantum medium having decay rates into an intermediate energy level greater than decay rates out of the intermediate energy level, the intermediate energy level lying between the lowest and highest of the interacting energy levels.

Assignee:
Rockwell International Corp., El Segundo, CA
Patent Number(s):
US 4807240
OSTI ID:
6183758
Resource Relation:
Patent File Date: Filed date 11 Jan 1988
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English