Abstract: A pulse configurable laser unit is an environmentally stable, mechanically robust, and maintenance-free ultrafast laser source for low-energy industrial, medical and analytical applications. The key features of the laser unit are a reliable, self-starting fiber oscillator and an integrated programmable pulse shaper. The combination of these components allows taking full advantage of the laser's broad bandwidth ultrashort pulse duration and arbitrary waveform generation via spectral phase manipulation. The source can routinely deliver near-TL, sub-60 fs pulses with megawatt-level peak power. The output pulse dispersion can be tuned to pre-compensate phase distortions down the line as well as to optimize the pulse profile for a specific application.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for using optical interferometry in the context of material modification processes such as surgical laser, sintering, and welding applications. An imaging optical source that produces imaging light. A feedback controller controls at least one processing parameter of the material modification process based on an interferometry output generated using the imaging light. A method of processing interferograms is provided based on homodyne filtering. A method of generating a record of a material modification process using an interferometry output is provided.

Abstract: A multi-axis robot includes multiple arms. The last arm which is closest to the workpiece has a tip or wrist which is configured to receive an end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) rotatable about the 6th axis of the robot. A mount for supporting a laser head assembly is coupled to the wrist so that the laser head assembly is not rotatable about the 6th axis of the robot.

Abstract: A laser head for a high power fiber laser system has a 5 to 10 mm high housing which is provided with a bottom. The housing encloses an input collimator assembly which collimates a single mode pump light at a fundamental frequency and maximum power of 2 kW. The housing further encases a multi-cascaded nonlinear frequency converter receiving the collimated pump light so as to convert the fundamental frequency into a higher harmonic thereof, wherein converted light at the higher frequency has a maximum power of 1 kW. Enclosed in the housing are electronic and light guiding optical components mounted in the housing. The bottom of the housing is an electro-optical printed circuit board (EO PCB) which directly supports the input collimator assembly, multi-cascaded nonlinear frequency converter, electronic and optical components at respective designated locations.

Abstract: A cavity-enhanced frequency mixer includes an input optical fiber, a waveguide, and an output optical fiber. The waveguide has an input end and an output end, the input end is connected to the input optical fiber, and a surface of the input end of the waveguide is coated with a highly reflective coating. The output optical fiber is formed with a fiber Bragg grating structure. The highly reflective coating and the fiber Bragg grating structure form a pair of reflective surfaces for resonant optical parametric oscillation under a low threshold situation, so that one of the beams generated by the input beam is reflected inside the partially reflective surfaces. Operated above a pump power threshold, the cavity-enhanced frequency mixer is tantamount to a compact, low-power budget optical parametric oscillator, while below the pump power threshold, it is a bright, compact, single-mode and narrow linewidth single-photon source.

Abstract: Catheter steering handles that are ergonomically designed to enable an operator to reduce hand fatigue. Various ergonomic aspects of the disclosed steering handles include geometries that more naturally conform to the palm of the hand and that enable the hand to be held in a natural, low stress posture during operation of the steering handle. In another aspect of the disclosure, the catheter steering handle is configured so that the operator can release or partially release the grip on the handle, thereby enabling the operator to relax and flex the hand, thereby reducing fatigue.

Abstract: An instrument for endoscopic applications, including urology. The instrument may include both irrigation and aspiration channels, effective attraction and suction of tissue and body stone fragments, enhanced viewing clarity of the operational area, illumination fibers with steering function for flexible version of the scopes. In some embodiments, a distal head is configured to locate a mouth of the working channel within a viewing angle of the visualization system. In some embodiments, a transparent cap is disposed at the distal end of endoscope to provide an enhanced view of the operational area. Irrigation and aspiration channels may be arranged so that consistent water flow will attract tissue and body stone particles and remove heated liquid. Illumination fibers may be utilized as pull linkages or push-pull linkages for deflection and steering of flexible embodiments of the scope.

Abstract: The disclosed laser system is configured with a laser source outputting light at a fundamental frequency. The output light is incident on a frequency converter operative to convert the fundamental frequency to a higher harmonic including at least one frequency converting stage. The frequency converter is based on a SrB4O7 (SBO) or PbB4O7 (PBO) nonlinear crystal configured with a plurality of domains. The domains have periodically alternating polarity of the crystal axis enabling a QPM use and formed with each with highly parallel walls which deviate from one another less than 1 micron over a 10 mm distance.

Abstract: According to at least one exemplary embodiment a heliostat driven reactor may be provided. The heliostat driven reactor may include one or more photonic collectors that collect photonic energy and disperses photonic energy, one or more mirrors which concentrate the photonic energy dispersed by the one or more photonic collectors, one or more gain mediums which receive, on one or more absorption faces, the photonic energy dispersed by the photonic energy collector and the photonic energy concentrated by the one or more mirrors, and/or a photoelectric material which receives photonic energy from the one or more gain mediums and converts the photonic energy into electrical energy.

Abstract: A surface treating method and apparatus include operating a quasi-continuous wave fiber laser and pre-scan shaping the laser beam such that an instantaneous spot beam has predetermined geometrical dimensions, intensity profile, and power; operating a scanner at an optimal angular velocity and angular range to divide the pre-scan beam into a plurality of sub-beams deflected towards the surface being processed; guiding the sub-beams through a post-scan optical assembly to provide the spot beam with predetermined geometrical dimensions, power, and angular velocity and range, which are selected such that the instantaneous spot beam is dragged in a scan direction over a desired length at a desired scan velocity, which allow the treated surface to be exposed for a predetermined exposure duration and have a predetermined fluence distribution providing the treated surface with a quality comparable to that of the surface processed by an excimer laser or a burst-mode fiber laser.

Abstract: A frequency conversion laser system is configured with a single mode (SM) laser source outputting a pulsed pump beam at a fundamental frequency and a nonlinear optical system operating to convert the fundamental frequency sequentially to a second harmonic (SH) and then third harmonic (TH). The nonlinear optical system includes an elongated SHG crystal traversed by the SM pulsed pump beam which generates the SH beam. The SHG crystal has an output surface inclined relative to a longitudinal axis of the SHG crystal at a first wedge angle different from a right angle. The nonlinear optical system further has an elongated THG crystal with an input surface which is impinged upon by a remainder of the pump and SHG beams which propagate through the THG crystal at a walk-off angle therebetween to generate a third harmonic (TH) beam, the input surface of the THG crystal being inclined to a longitudinal axis of the THG crystal at a second wedge angle.

Abstract: Catheter steering handles that are ergonomically designed to enable an operator to reduce hand fatigue. Various ergonomic aspects of the disclosed steering handles include geometries that more naturally conform to the palm of the hand and that enable the hand to be held in a natural, low stress posture during operation of the steering handle. In another aspect of the disclosure, the catheter steering handle is configured so that the operator can release or partially release the grip on the handle, thereby enabling the operator to relax and flex the hand, thereby reducing fatigue.

Abstract: A laser system comprising high voltage AC-to-DC power converter and one or more current sources coupled to the high voltage AC-to-DC power converter without a DC-to-DC converter between the one or more current sources and the AC-to-DC power source. Each of the one or more current sources includes a high voltage switch and one or more independent safety shutoffs. A laser module is operably coupled to the one or more current source and configured to emit electromagnetic radiation wherein the one or more safety shutoffs are configured to disable emission of electromagnetic radiation from the laser module when triggered.

Abstract: A method of fiber laser processing of thin film deposited on a substrate includes providing a laser beam from at least one fiber laser which is guided through a beam-shaping unit onto the thin film. The beam-shaping optics is configured to shape the laser beam into a line beam which irradiates a first irradiated thin film area Ab on a surface of the thin film, with the irradiated thin film area Ab being a fraction of the thin film area Af. By continuously displacing the beam shaping optics and the film relative to one another in a first direction at a distance dy between sequential irradiations, a sequence of uniform irradiated thin film areas Ab are formed on the film surface defining thus a first elongated column. Thereafter the beam shaped optics and film are displaced relative to one another at a distance dx in a second direction transverse to the first direction with the distance dx being smaller than a length of the irradiated film area Ab.

Abstract: A method and system for laser metal powder deposition using beam wobbling. The system may include a fiber laser configured to generate a laser beam and a laser head, the laser head configured to receive the laser beam from the fiber laser and including a collimator configured to collimate the laser beam, a wobbler module having first and second movable mirrors, and a focus lens configured to focus the collimated laser beam through a powder nozzle device such that a focal point location of the focused collimated laser beam is positioned below a workpiece surface. The powder nozzle device delivers metal powder to a region on the workpiece surface that is heated by the focused collimated laser beam.

Abstract: A method includes selecting a period for a volume Bragg grating (VBG) such that a spectral selectivity of the VBG is at least as wide as a spectral width of a broadband light beam that is to be spatially transformed, selecting a desired beam transformation for the broadband light beam, passing a first light beam from a recording light source through an optical device to a volume holographic recording medium where the optical device is configured to induce the desired beam transformation, directing a second light beam from the recording light source to the recording medium, and converging the first light beam and the second beam at a recording angle such that a spatial refractive index modulation profile is recorded in the recording medium that provides the VBG with the selected period, and a phase profile is embedded in the VBG that induces the desired beam transformation for each spectral component within a spectral width of the VBG.

Abstract: Laser processing of hard dielectric materials may include cutting a part from a hard dielectric material using a continuous wave laser operating in a quasi-continuous wave (QCW) mode to emit consecutive laser light pulses in a wavelength range of about 1060 nm to 1070 nm. Cutting using a QCW laser may be performed with a lower duty cycle (e.g., between about 1% and 15%) and in an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen, argon or helium. Laser processing of hard dielectric materials may further include post-cut processing the cut edges of the part cut from the dielectric material, for example, by beveling and/or polishing the edges to reduce edge defects. The post-cut processing may be performed using a laser beam with different laser parameters than the beam used for cutting, for example, by using a shorter wavelength (e.g., 193 nm excimer laser) and/or a shorter pulse width (e.g., picosecond laser).

Abstract: The Bi-Di coherent transmission system is configured with at least one pair of modules coupled to one another via a single fiber. The modules each are configured with a pair of laser outputting two reference signals at respective different wavelengths ?1o and ?2o, photonic transceiver and a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) coupler. The photonic transceivers each have transmitter and receiver branches integrated in a photonic circuit and receiving the reference signals. The transmitter is configured to modulate the received reference signals ?1oT and ?2oT which are further coupled into the WDM coupler. The WDM couplers each sort out one of the modulated signals and transmit the other modulated signal such that the transmitted modulated signal at different wavelengths ?1oT and ?2oT are coupled into respective opposite ends of the fiber and propagate towards one another in opposite directions.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for using optical interferometry in the context of material modification processes such as surgical laser or welding applications. An imaging optical source that produces imaging light. A feedback controller controls at least one processing parameter of the material modification process based on an interferometry output generated using the imaging light. A method of processing interferograms is provided based on homodyne filtering. A method of generating a record of a material modification process using an interferometry output is provided.

Abstract: A method and system for forming a photonic device. A photonic device may include a substrate, a cladding layer disposed on the substrate, an electrical device region formed within the cladding layer, the electrical device region having a plurality of electrical device component layers that include at least one metal layer, and a grating region formed within the cladding layer, the grating region including a grating coupler and the at least one metal layer. The at least one metal layer is deposited simultaneously in the electrical device and grating regions and is used in the grating region to reflect light emitted from the grating coupler.