Parametric Oscillator Patents (Class 359/330)
  • Patent number: 11777448
    Abstract: A high frequency electromagnetic radiation generation device is disclosed that includes a high voltage input, a nonlinear transmission line, an antenna, and a pulse recirculating circuit. In some embodiments, the high voltage input may be configured to receive electrical pulses having a first peak voltage that is greater than 5 kV, and/or may be electrically coupled with the nonlinear transmission line. The antenna may be electrically coupled with the nonlinear transmission line and/or may radiate electromagnetic radiation at a frequency greater than 100 MHz about a voltage greater than 5 kV. The pulse recirculating may be electrically coupled with the high voltage input and the antenna. The pulse recirculating circuit may include a diode; a low pass filter; and a delay line. In some embodiments, unradiated energy from the antenna is directed through the pulse recirculating circuit to the nonlinear transmission line with a delay of less than 100 ns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: Eagle Harbor Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: James R. Prager, Timothy M. Ziemba, Kenneth E. Miller
  • Patent number: 11644418
    Abstract: The present invention provides a far-infrared light source capable of reducing the shift in the location irradiated with far-infrared light even when the frequency of the far-infrared light changes. A far-infrared light source according to the present invention is configured so that the variation in the emission angle of far-infrared light in a nonlinear optical crystal when the frequency of the far-infrared light changes is substantially offset by the variation in the refractive angle of the far-infrared light at the interface between the nonlinear optical crystal and a prism when the frequency of the far-infrared light changes (see FIG. 8).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Corporation
    Inventors: Kei Shimura, Mizuki Mohara, Kenji Aiko
  • Patent number: 11604399
    Abstract: In one aspect, a device is disclosed that includes one or more input ports structured to receive a pumping light at a pumping wavelength and a signal light at a signal wavelength, and one or more output ports structured to output light including an amplified signal light at the signal wavelength and a second harmonic idler light. The device includes a nonlinear optical material to mix the pumping light and the signal light and to cause nonlinear conversion of the pumping light into the amplified signal light and generate an idler light at an idler wavelength. The nonlinear optical material is further structured to convert the idler light into the second harmonic idler light which eliminates the idler light at the one or more output ports and prevents back-conversion of the amplified signal light and idler light to the pumping wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: CORNELL UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Jeffrey Moses, Noah Flemens, Nicolas Swenson
  • Patent number: 11557872
    Abstract: Fiber optic amplification includes a photonic crystal fiber coupled to a pump laser through a first coupler. The pump laser emits a first electromagnetic radiation wave into the photonic crystal fiber at a first oscillation frequency and a second electromagnetic radiation wave into the photonic crystal fiber at a second oscillation frequency equaling the first oscillation frequency. The first and second electromagnetic radiation waves interact to generate a signal comprising an electromagnetic radiation wave at a third oscillation frequency and an idler comprising a fourth electromagnetic radiation wave at a fourth oscillation frequency to be generated and amplified through parametric amplification. Parametric amplification is achieved by four wave mixing. The photonic crystal fiber emits a parametric output signal based on the four wave mixing. A nonlinear crystal frequency doubles the parametric output signal through second-harmonic generation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: L. Brandon Shaw, Rafael R. Gattass, Rajesh Thapa, Lynda E. Busse, Ishwar D. Aggarwal, Daniel L. Rhonehouse, Jasbinder S. Sanghera, Jason Auxier
  • Patent number: 11487185
    Abstract: The technology disclosed in this patent document can be used to implement an optical device for generating broadband optical pulses, including an optical waveguide having different waveguide structures at different locations along the optical waveguide and with varying dimensions or pressure gradient that change adiabatically along the different locations to enable non-linear four wave mixing over a broad spectral range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignees: Cornell University, Ramot at Tel-Aviv University LTD
    Inventors: Haim Suchowski, Asaf Dahan, Eyal Bahar, Jeffrey Moses, Xiaoyue Ding
  • Patent number: 11467469
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a plurality of front-end nonlinear optical crystals and a plurality of back-end nonlinear optical crystals. The front-end nonlinear optical crystals are arranged in a chain and are configured to amplify a received signal. The back-end nonlinear optical crystals are arranged in the chain after the front-end nonlinear optical crystals and are configured to further amplify the received signal and generate an amplified signal. The back-end nonlinear optical crystals are made from a different nonlinear optical crystal than the front-end nonlinear optical crystals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventors: Robert D. Stultz, Todd O. Clatterbuck, Aleksandr S. Radunsky, Aaron B. Potter, Katherine V. Palombo
  • Patent number: 11217959
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a broadband optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier insensitive to temperature comprises the first pulsed laser, the second pulsed laser, a pulse stretcher and a periodically poled nonlinear crystal. Via the proper arrangement of the non-collinear angles between the transmission directions of the signal light, the pump light and the idler light, to simultaneously satisfy the angular relationship required for constructing the non-collinear phase-matching configuration insensitive to wavelength and that required for constructing the non-collinear phase-matching configuration insensitive to temperature, the optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier not only can realize a broadband parametric amplification of the signal light (insensitive to wavelength), but also can effectively alleviate the phase mismatch in nonlinear crystal resulted from the excessively high local temperature (insensitive to temperature).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Shenzhen University
    Inventors: Haizhe Zhong, Dahua Dai, Chengchuan Liang, Zhaoxing Liang, Botian Wang, Ying Li, Dianyuan Fan
  • Patent number: 11169428
    Abstract: A squeezed light generator (SLG) for generating squeezed light (SQL) is disclosed, said squeezed light generator (SLG) comprising: —a waveguide (WG) being arranged to receive fundamental wavelength laser light (FWL), the waveguide (WG) comprising a second harmonic generator (SHG) for generating second harmonic light (SHL) from the fundamental wavelength light (FWL), —an optical cavity (OC) resonant for both fundamental wavelength light (FWL) and the second harmonic light (SHL), the optical cavity (OC) being arranged to receive the second harmonic light (SHL), and —a parametric down converter (PDC) arranged inside said optical cavity (OC), the parametric down converter (PDC) being adapted for generating said squeezed light (SQL) using said second harmonic light (SHL). Also, a method for generating squeezed light (SQL) is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet
    Inventors: Ulrik Lund Andersen, Tobias Gehring, Christian Scheffmann Jacobsen
  • Patent number: 11106111
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus for generating Kerr frequency combs. The system includes a continuous-wave pump laser to provide a master comb pump. The system includes a microresonator that generates a master Kerr frequency comb using the master comb pump. The system includes a splitter that splits the master Kerr frequency comb into multiple CW comb lines including a first comb line used to transmit a data signal and a second comb line used as a slave comb pump. The system includes a combiner that is configured to combine the first comb line and the second comb line to produce a combination of a data channel and CW comb line. The system includes a second demultiplexer that extracts the second comb line that is used as the slave comb pump. The system includes another microresonator that uses the second comb line and generates a slave Kerr frequency comb.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Peicheng Liao, Alan Willner, Ahmed Almaiman, Changjing Bao
  • Patent number: 11048143
    Abstract: Systems and methods for generating infrared radiation are provided. The systems and methods may generate, via one or more pump sources, one or more pump beams. The one or more pump beams may define a single beamline. The systems and methods may further generate, via a nonlinear optical converter, a first signal wavelength, a first idler wavelength, a second signal wavelength, and a second idler wavelength based, at least in part, on the one or more pump beams. The first signal wavelength and the first idler wavelength may be independently variable from the second signal wavelength and the second idler wavelength. The systems and methods may further output, via the nonlinear optical converter, a mid-wave infrared (MWIR) beam including three or more wavelengths in the single beamline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.
    Inventors: York E. Young, Andrew J. Radl, Glen A. Rines
  • Patent number: 11009773
    Abstract: The present invention belongs to the technical field of lasers and provides a dual-chirped spectral optical parametric amplifier and an amplification method. A femtosecond laser assembly is configured to generate simultaneous pump and signal waves which successively pass through an input grating and an input collimator respectively. The various spectrum components of both the pump and the signal waves linearly disperse and focus on respective focal points, and present spatial chirps with opposite frequency gradients in the respective focal planes. A full-spectrum optical parametric amplification of the signal wave with the pump wave is performed via a fan-out periodically poled crystal, resulting an ultrabroad idler wave. The ultrabroad idler wave is separated from the hybrid waves via an optical splitter, and then passes successively through an output collimator and an output grating, and is Fourier transformed from frequency domain to temporal domain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: SHENZHEN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Haizhe Zhong, Yuhai Liang, Dahua Dai, Ying Li, Dianyuan Fan
  • Patent number: 10884313
    Abstract: A nano-opto-electro-mechanical System (NOEMS) phase shifter is described. The NOEMS may include a multi-slot waveguide structure suspended in air. The multi-slot waveguide structure may include three or more waveguides separated from each other by slots. The width of the slots may be sufficiently small to support slot modes, where a substantial portion of the mode energy is within the slots. For example, the slots may have widths less than 200 nm or less than 100 nm. The multi-slot waveguide structure may be disposed in a trench formed though the upper cladding of a substrate. An undercut may be formed under the multi-slot waveguide structure to enable free motion of the structure. NOEMS phase modulators of the types described herein may be used in connection with photonic processing systems, telecom/datacom systems, analog systems, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: Lightmatter, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael Gould
  • Patent number: 10873172
    Abstract: The technology described in this document can be used to implement an optical device including a seed pump laser to produce pump seed laser pulses at a pump wavelength, a pulse stretcher operable to stretch a pulse duration of the pump seed laser pulses to produce stretched pump seed laser pulses, a pump fiber amplifier including one or more fiber gain media to receive the seed pump laser pulses to produce a pump laser beam of pump laser pulses, a signal laser to produce a signal laser beam at a signal wavelength different from the pump wavelength, an optical module coupled to combine the pump laser beam and the signal laser beam, and a fiber optical parametric amplifier (OPA) to cause a nonlinear parametric interaction in the nonlinear fiber medium to produce an output signal beam, an output idler laser beam at an idler wavelength, and an output pump beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: Cornell University
    Inventors: Walter Fu, Frank Wise
  • Patent number: 10802208
    Abstract: A measurement apparatus, including: a tapered optical fiber, the tapered optical fiber having an input to receive radiation and having an output to provide spectrally broadened output radiation toward a measurement target, the tapered optical fiber configured to spectrally broaden the radiation received at the input; and a detector system configured to receive a redirected portion of the output radiation from the measurement target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: ASML Holding N.V.
    Inventors: King Pui Leung, Tao Chen, Ronan James Havelin, Igor Matheus Petronella Aarts, Adel Joobeur, Joseph Carbone
  • Patent number: 10599008
    Abstract: Ultrafast group-velocity control method and device thereof comprising a signal path successively comprising a seed laser source, a pulse stretcher, and a first pulse compressor; a pump path comprising a pump laser source; an amplifier comprising a nonlinear crystal with chirped poled-period; and an idler path successively comprising a spectral filter and a second pulse compressor after amplifier. Both chirped signal pulse from the pulse stretcher and pump pulse from the pump source incident into the amplifier, where energy continuously transfers from the pump pulse to the chirped signal pulse and a newly generated idler pulse. The amplified chirped signal pulse is directly compressed by first pulse compressor and the generated idler pulse is firstly filtered by the spectral filter and then compressed by the second pulse compressor. After amplification and compression, both signal and idler are delayed, and group delay is adjusted by the pump intensity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: SHANGHAI JIAO TONG UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Jingui Ma, Liejia Qian, Bingjie Zhou, Jing Wang, Peng Yuan, Guoqiang Xie
  • Patent number: 10522965
    Abstract: A system and method for generating optically synthesized microwave signals with broadband tunability is disclosed. The system includes a first laser and a second laser, where the first laser and second laser are optically coupled to each other. The second laser is operable to receive optical signals injected by the first laser, and to output optical signals via one or more feedback paths. The system provides for singular or mutual optical injection. A photodetector is optically coupled to the second laser over the one or more feedback paths, and operable to convert optical signals to electrical signals. A phase modulator is coupled to the photodetector, where the electrical signals from the photodetector are operable to drive the phase modulator and close the one or more feedback paths. The respective lengths of the feedback paths may be selected such that their corresponding lengths provide a frequency spacing for optical signals therein that is significantly smaller than a frequency of microwave signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Inventors: Joseph S. Suelzer, Nicholas G. Usechak, Preetpaul S. Devgan, Thomas B. Simpson
  • Patent number: 10483709
    Abstract: The present invention provides systems and methods for producing short laser pulses that are amplified and spectrally broadened in a bulk gain media. The bulk material, having laser gain and nonlinear properties, is concurrently exposed to an optical pump input and a seed input, the pump power being sufficient to amplify and spectrally broaden the seed pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: IPG PHOTONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Igor Moskalev, Sergey Vasilyev, Michael Mirov, Valentin Gapontsev
  • Patent number: 10409139
    Abstract: A light source providing multi-longitudinal resonant waves, particularly by utilizing an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) to produce a broadband emission spectrum. By configuring the system to pump the OPO far above the oscillation threshold, tunable light of macroscopic power with a short coherence length is provided. The coherence may be further shortened by additional longitudinal mode scrambling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Qioptiq Photonics GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Frank Mueller
  • Patent number: 10404029
    Abstract: An introduction unit that introduces a pump light pulse having a first wavelength, a shaping unit that shapes a waveform of the pump light pulse, a nonlinear optical waveguide that generates a wavelength converted light pulse from a pump light pulse, the pump light pulse being a pulse that has been shaped in the shaping unit, through an optical parametric process, the wavelength converted light pulse including a second wavelength different from the first wavelength. The shaping unit shapes the waveform of the pump light pulse such that an absolute value of a time rate of change of the waveform at a peak area of the pump light pulse that has been shaped is smaller than an absolute value of a time rate of change of the waveform at a peak area of the pump light pulse before being shaped with the shaping unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shun Miura
  • Patent number: 10340652
    Abstract: A laser device according to the present invention may comprise: a pumping laser supply unit for emitting a pumping laser having a nano-second pulse width; and a laser output unit disposed at one side of the pumping laser supply unit and generating an output laser which is pumped by the pumping laser to have a nano-second pulse width corresponding to the pulse width of the pumping laser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2019
    Assignee: LUTRONIC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hee Chul Lee
  • Patent number: 10324356
    Abstract: A light source providing multi-longitudinal resonant waves, particularly by utilizing an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) to produce a broadband emission spectrum. By configuring the system to pump the OPO far above the oscillation threshold, tunable light of macroscopic power with a short coherence length is provided. The coherence may be further shortened by additional longitudinal mode scrambling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2019
    Assignee: Qioptiq Photonics GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Frank Mueller
  • Patent number: 10303040
    Abstract: An integrated, vertically stacked device includes a laser in an enclosure, a wavelength converter in an enclosure, a mechanical interface for attaching the enclosures and maintaining the laser and wavelength converter in the same plane, and apparatus for directing light from the laser to the wavelength converter within the footprint of the integrated device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: Kapteyn Murnane Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew S. Kirchner, Sterling J. Backus, David Winters, Scott R Domingue
  • Patent number: 10292593
    Abstract: An imaging device configured for optoacoustic imaging of an object, including an illumination device including optical components arranged to illuminate the object, a detector device comprising an array of detector elements arranged in a tank and arranged to detect acoustic signals created in the object, and a container device including a tank arranged to accommodate the detector device, the object and a matching transmission medium, a holding device adapted to position and move the object relative to the illumination device and the detector device, wherein the optical components are arranged in the tank to illuminate the object from different directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH)
    Inventors: Daniel Razansky, Vasilis Ntziachristos
  • Patent number: 10281798
    Abstract: A wavelength conversion device that converts input signal light having a first frequency into output signal light having a second frequency, includes: a control-light generator that outputs first continuous oscillation light and second continuous oscillation light; and a nonlinear optical medium that cross-phase modulates the input signal light with the first continuous oscillation light and the second continuous oscillation light and generates the output signal light, wherein the control-light generator outputs the first continuous oscillation light and the second continuous oscillation light to have polarized waves in directions orthogonal to each other and have a frequency interval equal to a difference between the first frequency and the second frequency and controls, based on intensity of the output signal light, timings of modulation of phases of the first continuous oscillation light and the second continuous oscillation light to be aligned with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Kato, Shigeki Watanabe, Takeshi Hoshida
  • Patent number: 10274810
    Abstract: An apparatus for generating laser pulses by non-linear four-wave mixing, including a pump laser source to emit a pump beam of femtosecond laser pulses at a pump wavelength, the pump laser source configured to couple the pump beam into a first beam path and an idler beam into a second beam path; a chirp unit to receive the pump beam from the pump laser source configured to temporally stretch the laser pulses, wherein the chirp unit is arranged in the first beam path before a parametric conversion unit; and wherein the parametric conversion unit receives the pump beam from the chirp unit and is configured to produce a signal beam at a signal wavelength by four-wave mixing in a non-linear optical medium, the parametric conversion unit receiving the idler beam via the second beam path, and the pump beam and the idler beam being superimposed in the non-linear optical medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: TOPTICA PHOTONICS AG
    Inventor: Robert Herda
  • Patent number: 10256912
    Abstract: In a signal regeneration device in which recovery of a signal quality which has been degraded during transmission in optical communication and extension of a transmission distance are achieved, the most representative method of quantizing an optical phase is a phase sensitive amplifier (PSA) and a technique that utilizes an optical parametric process through use of a highly nonlinear optical medium, but there is a demand for a technique of quantizing an optical phase which is not accompanied with an optical parametric gain, has small-sized elements, is easily integrated, and does not require high power pump light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
    Inventor: Takayuki Kurosu
  • Patent number: 10241380
    Abstract: A terahertz wave generator 1 includes a nonlinear crystal 4, which is capable of generating a terahertz wave TH, a pumping beam emitter 2, which emits a pumping beam L1, a seed beam emitter 3, which is disposed so as to be parallel to a nonlinear crystal 4 and emits a seed beam L2, a first total reflection mirror 17 and a second total reflection mirror 18, which successively reflect the seed beam L2 emitted from the seed beam emitter 3 to cause the seed beam L2 to be incident on the nonlinear crystal 4, and a convex lens 6, which collects the seed beam L2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: SHIBUYA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshiaki Naka, Motoi Sasaki, Akito Tsuchiya
  • Patent number: 10216064
    Abstract: Parametric optical waveform synthesizer (100) creating optical waveforms (4) includes: pump source device (10); seed source device (20); optical parametric amplifier device (30) having master channel (30A) with at least one optical parametric amplifier unit (31A, 32A), and having at least one slave channel (30B, 30C), with at least one optical parametric amplifier unit (31B, 32B, 31C, 32C); beam combiner device (40), detector devices (50), and control system (60), which is configured for orthogonal control of seed source device (20) and optical parametric amplifier device (30).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
    Inventors: Roland Mainz, Giulio Maria Rossi, Franz Xaver Kaertner, Oliver D. Muecke, Giovanni Cirmi
  • Patent number: 10191354
    Abstract: A high-average-power OPCPA amplifier comprising a pump laser, a signal laser, and a nonlinear crystal amplifier. The pump laser includes an Nd:YVO4 laser oscillator-regenerative amplifier, an Nd:YAG boost amplifier, a frequency-doubling convertor, and a frequency-tripling convertor. The signal laser includes a supercontinuum generator, a pulse stretcher, and a pulse compressor. The chirped signal and the pump laser is intersected with a noncollinear angle of 3.0° to 4.0° in the nonlinear crystal amplifier and the temperature of the crystal amplifier is set at higher than 320K for simultaneous temperature- and wavelength-insensitive phase-matching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
    Inventors: Liejia Qian, Daolong Tang, Jing Wang, Jingui Ma, Bingjie Zhou, Peng Yuan, Guoqiang Xie
  • Patent number: 10133150
    Abstract: An optical parametric amplification device, including: an emitter emitting non-monochromatic light pulses as a pump wave; a stretcher configured to receive as an input pump wave, and to output a stretched pump wave; and a waveguide configured to receive as an input the stretched pump wave and chirped pulses, and to provide a wave resulting from a four wave mixing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignees: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES, CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQE, UNIVERSITE LILLE I SCIENCES ET TECHNOLOGIES
    Inventors: Emmanuel Hugonnot, Patrick Beaure D'Augeres, Damien Bigourd, Arnaud Mussot, Alexandre Kudlinski
  • Patent number: 10120264
    Abstract: A pumping beam L1 is caused to be incident on an end surface 4A of a nonlinear crystal 4, and a seed beam L2, the diameter of which is increased by a concave lens 6, is collected and adjusted into a collimated beam by a convex lens 7 and caused to be incident on the end surface 4A described above. The pumping beam L1 and the seed beam L2 are caused to be incident on the end surface 4A with the pumping beam L1 and the seed beam L2 superimposed on each other, whereby the nonlinear crystal 4 generates a terahertz wave TH.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: SHIBUYA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshiaki Naka, Motoi Sasaki, Akito Tsuchiya
  • Patent number: 10113959
    Abstract: A terahertz wave generating device according to the present invention comprises a fixed-wavelength pump optical laser that generates a single wavelength pump beam, a variable-wavelength laser that emits a seed beam and is capable of making the wavelength of the seed beam variable, a delay element that delays pulses of the pump beam and a first non-linear crystal that generates terahertz waves by receiving the seed beam, a first pump beam that is not delayed by the delay element and a second pump beam that is delayed by the delay element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Kenji Aiko, Kei Shimura
  • Patent number: 10082722
    Abstract: A system includes an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) device. The OPO device has an optical resonator, a first nonlinear optical element (NLO) and a second non-linear optical element (NLO). The first NLO can produce, via OPO of a first pump beam, a first output with a first frequency and a second output with a second frequency. The second frequency is lower than the first frequency. The second NLO can produce, via OPO of a second pump beam (with a higher frequency than the first), a third output with a third frequency and a fourth output with a fourth frequency. The fourth frequency is lower than the third frequency. The first frequency is the same, or at least substantially the same, as the fourth frequency. The OPO device is configured to resonate at the first frequency and the fourth frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: Qioptiq Photonics GmbH & Co KG
    Inventors: Frank Mueller, Arne Härter
  • Patent number: 10042231
    Abstract: A method of creating difference frequency (DF) laser pulses (1) by difference frequency generation (DFG) comprises the steps of providing ultrashort laser pulses (2) having a spectral bandwidth corresponding to a Fourier limit of below 50 fs and containing first spectral components and second spectral components having larger frequencies than the first spectral components, and driving a DFG process by the ultrashort laser pulses (2) in an optically non-linear crystal (10), wherein the DF laser pulses (1) are generated in the crystal (10) by difference frequencies between the first and second spectral components, resp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V.
    Inventors: Alexander Apolonskiy, Ernst Fill, Ioachim Pupeza, Ferenc Krausz
  • Patent number: 10014652
    Abstract: A novel broadly tunable optical parametric oscillator is described for use in numerous applications including multi-photon microscopy. The optical parametric oscillator includes at least one sub-picosecond laser pump source configured to output a pump signal having a wavelength of about 650 nm or less and at least one type II optical parametric oscillator in optical communication with the pump source and configured to generate a single widely tunable pulsed optical signal. In one application, an optical system is in optical communication with the optical parametric oscillator and configured to direct at least a portion of the optical signal to a specimen, and at least one analyzing device is configured to receive a signal from the specimen in response to the optical signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: Newport Corporation
    Inventors: James D. Kafka, James Clark, Ching-Yuan Chien, Yujun Deng, Andrei C. Florean, David E. Spence
  • Patent number: 10001695
    Abstract: Apparatus and method for high-power multi-function millimeter-wavelength (THz-frequency) signal generation using OPO and DFG in a single cavity. In some embodiments, the OPO-DFG cavity includes an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) non-linear material that receives pump light IP having pump-light frequency and generates two different lower intermediate frequencies of light—an OPO-signal beam IS and a spatially/temporally overlapping OPO-idler beam II. A difference-frequency generator non-linear material then receives the two intermediate-frequency beams II and IS, and the DFG then generates a THz-frequency output signal that has a frequency equal to the difference between the two intermediate frequencies. In some embodiments, a single-piece crystal of non-linear material is used for both OPO and DFG functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Yongdan Hu, Andrew Xing, Angus J. Henderson
  • Patent number: 9958252
    Abstract: Apparatus, systems, and methods of operating a fiber laser having polarization-preserving fibers can be applied as a sensor to detect a physical quantity. In various embodiments, polarization-preserving fibers can provide a laser cavity having an interferometer disposed in the laser cavity. In various embodiments, a fiber optical parametric oscillator can include an interferometer disposed in the cavity of the optical parametric oscillator. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: STC. UNM
    Inventors: Jean-Claude Diels, Ladan Arissian
  • Patent number: 9804476
    Abstract: An optical parametric generator comprises a seed laser feeding an optical system. The seed laser is arranged to provide a seed beam at either a signal frequency of a signal wave or an idler frequency of an idler wave. Further, the optical parametric generator comprises a pump laser of a defined type feeding the optical system. The pump laser emits ultra-short optical pulses as a pump wave. In addition, the optical parametric generator comprises a second order non-linear crystal of a defined type arranged in the optical system. The defined type of the crystal and the defined type of the pump laser are selected so that the signal wave or the idler wave are locked in an edge of the pump wave.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: The Australian National University
    Inventor: Barry Luther-Davies
  • Patent number: 9754214
    Abstract: Maximally entangled particle groups, organized into defined, shaped pulses, and patterns made up of these shaped pulses are described. Using the system and method of the present disclosure, a first group of maximally entangled particles is maximally entangled with another, second group of maximally entangled particles forming at least two groups of maximally entangled particles. These two groups are maximally entangled inter-group and maximally entangled intra-group. These groups can be manipulated in a quantum device to provide virtually error free logic in a quantum computing device, as compared to single particle manipulation, which suffers from data loss and decoherence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Inventor: Lawrence F. Glaser
  • Patent number: 9753353
    Abstract: A system and method for separating signal quadratures includes obtaining, by a parametric amplifier, an input signal, amplifying, by the parametric amplifier, the input signal to create an amplified signal and generating an idler. The idler is a conjugate image of the input signal. The system and method also include obtaining, by a frequency converter, the amplified signal and the conjugate image and converting the amplified signal and the conjugate image into a first output and a second output, where the first output includes a first signal quadrature and the second output includes a second output quadrature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Vencore Labs, Inc.
    Inventors: Colin McKinstrie, Anjali Agarwal
  • Patent number: 9711931
    Abstract: A simultaneous temperature- and wavelength-insensitive parametric amplifier comprising a pump laser, a signal laser, and a crystal amplifier. The pump laser system on a first optical pathway includes a Nd:YVO4 laser oscillator-regenerative amplifier and a Nd:YAG boost amplifier. The pump laser beam is generated from the pump laser system, passes through the first image-relay system, and is frequency-doubled in the frequency-doubling crystal. The signal laser system on a second optical pathway comprises a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier and generates the signal laser beam, which passes through the pulse stretcher and is temporally chirped and imposed with an angular dispersion by the first grating. The chirped signal beam and pump laser beam are intersected with a noncollinear angle of >5° in the crystal amplifier for temperature-insensitive phase-matching (PM).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
    Inventors: Liejia Qian, Daolong Tang, Jingui Ma, Jing Wang, Bingjie Zhou, Peng Yuan, Guoqiang Xie
  • Patent number: 9680286
    Abstract: A tunable laser system includes a tunable laser, an adjustable laser cavity for producing one or more modes of laser light emitted from the tunable laser, a first optical parametric oscillator positioned in a light path of the adjustable laser cavity, and a controller operable to simultaneously control parameters of at least the tunable laser, the first optical parametric oscillator, and the adjustable laser cavity to produce a range of wavelengths emitted from the tunable laser system. A method of operating a tunable laser system includes using a controller to simultaneously control parameters of a tunable laser, an adjustable laser cavity for producing one or more modes of laser light emitted from the tunable laser, and a first optical parametric oscillator positioned in a light path of the adjustable laser cavity, to produce a range of wavelengths emitted from the tunable laser system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Inventor: Joel McCorkel
  • Patent number: 9653880
    Abstract: A light source is disclosed, having a quasi-incoherent broadband pump source configured to produce a longitudinally and transversally multi-mode pump beam. The light source may include a means for narrowing the linewidth of the pump beam. The light source includes an optical parametric oscillator with an optical cavity containing a crystal. The optical parametric oscillator is configured to receive light from the pump source and produce a first output light beam and a second output light beam. An optical coupler is disposed between the pump source and the optical parametric oscillator. At least one of the first and second output light beams is a substantially single transversal mode light having a narrower linewidth than the pump source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: QIOPTIQ PHOTONICS GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Frank Mueller, Arne Härter
  • Patent number: 9590385
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward a low-power, high quality compact laser source. Embodiments include an optical combiner combining the outputs of a pump laser and a Fabry-Perot seed laser into a fiber amplifier. The fiber amplifier can comprise, for example, erbium-doped fiber. Embodiments can include pulsed and continuous wave lasers, depending on desired functionality.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: Cubic Corporation
    Inventors: Tony Maryfield, Anand Hariharan, David Robinson
  • Patent number: 9557626
    Abstract: An optical apparatus comprising: a source and a loop. The source generates a pump. The resonating cavity of the source includes: a gain medium; and a tunable filter for selecting a wavelength. The loop comprises: an input coupler; a waveguide; and an output coupler. The input coupler receives the pump and a signal and outputs the pump and the signal into the waveguide In the waveguide, energy in the pump is transferred into energy in the signal while a relative center position of the signal is crossing a center position of the pump in a first direction while both are passing through the waveguide and into the output coupler. The output coupler r outputs a first portion of the signal and a second portion of the signal is fed into the input coupler as the signal, completing the loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignees: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, THE ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
    Inventors: Yukihiro Inoue, Dan Trung Nguyen, Khanh Kieu
  • Patent number: 9528875
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provides methods and systems for synthesizing optical signals with high frequency stability. Using a set of external optical signal manipulators and control systems, embodiments of the invention enhance the resolution of any frequency reference and thereby alleviates the needs for ultra-high-Q cavities in frequency-stable optical signal synthesis. The invention consequently improves the performance of any optical signal generator by a substantial margin, while maintaining the system complexity and power dissipation at levels comparable to the original systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: RAM PHOTONICS, LLC
    Inventor: Ping Piu Kuo
  • Patent number: 9470954
    Abstract: In an optical parametric frequency conversion arrangement first and second optically nonlinear crystals (18, 20) mounted on respectively first and second drive-shafts (26, 30). The drive shafts (26, 30) are counter-rotatably driven by a single stepper-motor (50) via a gear-train. The first drive-shaft (26) includes a lead screw. When the first drive-shaft (26) is rotated, the first crystal (18) is rotated and simultaneously translated, while the second crystal (20) is simultaneously counter-rotated but is not translated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: Coherent Scotland Limited
    Inventor: Michael Mason
  • Patent number: 9435839
    Abstract: An apparatus is provided for RF signal discrimination. A master laser of the apparatus is connected to an optical input of an optical phase modulator. The optical phase modulator is configured to receive a plurality of RF signals at an RF input and further configured to receive an output from the master laser at an optical input. A slave laser operating below a lasing threshold is configured to receive a modulated output from the optical phase modulator. An optical filter is configured to receive a mixed signal generated inside the slave laser. A photodetector receives the filtered mixed signal and is configured to recover a RF signal from the plurality of RF signals, where a frequency of a sideband of the recovered RF signal corresponds to a mode of the slave laser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventors: Preetpaul S Devgan, Nicholas G Usechak
  • Patent number: 9419559
    Abstract: The invention relates to a parametric oscillator (1) for generating ultra-short pulses. The system (1) comprises a resonator (10) having an optical axis (11), an amplifier crystal (9) arranged in the resonator (10), and a pump laser system (4) for generating pump laser radiation (5) comprising pump photons, said pump laser radiation being directed onto the amplifier crystal (9). The invention is characterized in that the amplifier crystal (9) is an optically non-linear crystal configured for generating a signal photon and an idler photon from a pump photon by means of an optical-parametric process, wherein the resonator (10) is arranged in such a way that a signal pulse formed from the signal photons leaves the amplifier crystal (9) along the optical axis (11) of the resonator (10), and wherein dispersion compensation members for at least partially compensating the dispersion of the radiation circulating in the resonator (10) are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universitat Hannover
    Inventors: Uwe Morgner, Stefan Rausch, Thomas Binhammer
  • Patent number: 9407373
    Abstract: Embodiments herein provide for an optical frequency synthesizer including a coarse optical frequency comb, a fine optical frequency comb, and an output laser. The coarse comb is pumped with a first pump laser, and an absolute frequency of at least one tooth of the coarse optical frequency comb is set. The fine comb is pumped with a second pump laser and has a frequency spacing between teeth that is locked to a fractional or integer multiple of a radio frequency reference. Initially, the second pump laser is locked to a first tooth of the coarse optical frequency comb. The optical frequency synthesizer can be tuned by sweeping the second pump laser and locking the second pump laser to a desired tooth. An output signal can then be generated with the output laser based on a tooth of fine comb after the second pump is locked to the desired tooth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Chad Fertig, Steven Tin