High power laser with focusing mirror sets
This patent describes a laser system producing a high power laser beam which propogates along a path. It comprises an optical resonator cavity enclosing a lasing medium through which the laser beam propagates along a first portion of the path within the optical resonator cavity; wherein the laser beam emerges from the cavity and propogates along a second portion of the path outside the cavity; and a first mirror set positioned along the first portion of the path within the cavity, the first set having effective focal length providing sufficient focal power to compensate for distributed thermally-induced lensing in the lasing medium and to maintain substantially constant laser beam diameter along a region of the path adjacent the first set, wherein each mirror in the first set is shaped and oriented so that the first set is substantially astigmatism- free, wherein the first set includes a spherical mirror and a cylindrical mirror, and wherein the spherical mirror has a radius of curvature equal to R and the cylindrical mirror has a radius of curvature substantially equal to R, and the first set has an effective focal length substantially equal to f = {radical}2R/4.
- Assignee:
- Coherent, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
- Patent Number(s):
- US 5023886; A
- Application Number:
- PPN: US 7-278665
- OSTI ID:
- 5869074
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: 1 Dec 1988
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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