Patents Examined by James Menefee
  • Patent number: 7046713
    Abstract: A gas discharge laser having an elongated cathode and an elongated anode with a porous insulating layer covering the anode discharge surface. A pulse power system provides electrical pulses at rates of at least 1 KHz. A blower circulates laser gas between the electrodes at speeds of at least 5 m/s and a heat exchanger is provided to remove heat produced by the blower and the discharges. In preferred embodiments at least a portion of the anode is comprised of lead, and fluorine ion sputtering of the anode surface creates the insulating layer (over the discharge surface of the anode) comprised in large part of lead fluoride. In a particular preferred embodiment the anode is fabricated in two parts, a first part having the general shape of a prior art anode with a trench shaped cavity at the top and a second part comprised of lead rich brass and disposed in the trench shape cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2006
    Assignee: Cymer, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard G. Morton
  • Patent number: 7042918
    Abstract: A tunable laser source of a Littman arrangement type has a wavelength selection mirror rotating around a position where a mode hop is suppressed in a wavelength variation, a feed screw receiving a driving force of a motor at one end to be rotated, in which another end is disposed at a predetermined position, and which is larger in coefficient of thermal expansion than the optical base, a first nut feedably fitted to the feed screw, a flat spring in which one end is fixed to the first nut; and a mirror arm having a rotation shaft disposed at a rotation center of the wavelength selection mirror, and first and second arm portions formed in a V-like shape and elongating from the rotation shaft. The wavelength selection mirror is fixed to the first arm portion, and another end of the flat spring is fixed to the second arm portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2006
    Assignee: Yokogawa Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Shosuke Miyaki
  • Patent number: 7042921
    Abstract: A semiconductor complex coupled light emitting device is disclosed having a lower cladding layer, an optical cavity formed adjacent the lower cladding layer and an upper cladding layer formed adjacent the optical cavity. The optical cavity includes a lower multi-quantum well active region formed from a first high reactivity material system and an upper multi-quantum well diffraction grating structure formed from a second low reactivity material system that is not subject to oxidation when etched.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2006
    Assignee: Emcore Corporation
    Inventors: Bernd Witzigmann, Charles Tsai
  • Patent number: 7037743
    Abstract: A semiconductor laser device is provided that includes a first conductivity type semiconductor substrate, a first conductivity type cladding layer provided on the semiconductor substrate and an active layer provided on the cladding layer. The active layer has a super-lattice structure including a disordered region in a vicinity of a cavity end face. A first cladding layer of a second conductivity type is provided on the active layer, an etching stop layer of the second conductivity type is provided on the first cladding layer and a second cladding layer of the second conductivity type is provided on the etching stop layer. The second cladding layer forms a ridge structure that extends along a cavity length direction. An impurity concentration in the etching stop layer in the vicinity of the cavity end face is equal to or smaller than about 2×1018 cm?3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2006
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshikazu Onishi, Hideto Adachi, Masaya Mannou, Akira Takamori
  • Patent number: 7035298
    Abstract: Improved multipass second harmonic generation (SHG) is provided by the use of an inverting, self-imaging telescope which ensures parallelism of all passes of all beams within the nonlinear medium. Improved multipass SHG is also provided by the use of a wedged phasor which provides a simple adjustment of the relative phase of the pump beam and second harmonic beam between passes. Improved multipass SHG is provided by the use of an inverting self-imaging telescope in combination with a wedged phasor which provides a simple adjustment of the relative phase of the pump beam and second harmonic beam between passes, ensures parallelism of all passes of all beams within the nonlinear medium. A further embodiment includes an OPO and at least one phasor and preferably first and second telescope assemblies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: Picarro, Inc.
    Inventors: Konstantin Vodopyanov, Bruce Richman, Chris Rella
  • Patent number: 7033852
    Abstract: A method and device for passivating the resonator end faces, in particular the cleaved edges of semiconductor laser diodes, by high-temperature epitaxy of the quaternary compound semiconductor InxGa1-xAsyP1-y, where (0?x?1 and 0?y?1). To passivate the InxGa1-xAsyP1-y, an additional passivation layer may be applied in situ. The semiconductor crystal is brought to the temperature required for the epitaxy by being heated. To avoid thermal destruction of the contact metal during the epitaxy, the metal is only deposited after the cleaving operation and the passivation. The deposition of the metal on the passivated laser bar is carried out by means of special equipment that allows deposition of metal on the entire surface of the laser and at the same time prevents vapour deposition on the cleaved edges. The method and device can be applied to the production of high-power laser diodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: Lumics GmbH
    Inventors: Karl Häusler, Nils Kirstaedter
  • Patent number: 7031355
    Abstract: In a stabilized laser system, a an output signal is to be generated having a desired central wavelength. At least one laser, which, while emitting light and having a preselected portion thereof fed back thereto, causes the output signal of the laser to be shifted in wavelength in a first direction which is spaced apart from the center wavelength of the fed back signal. A feedback generating arrangement processes a first portion of the output signal from each laser and generates a feedback signal having a spectral response peaking at a wavelength shifted in an opposite direction to the first direction generated by each laser. The feedback signal each laser to provide an output signal at the output of the stabilized laser system having a spectral response that peaks essentially at the desired wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2006
    Assignee: Optovia Corporation
    Inventors: Hamid R. Khazaei, Hongmin Chen, David Kirk Lewis, Hsing Cheng
  • Patent number: 7027469
    Abstract: In a tunable optical source, a diffraction device 115 is used to provide wavelength selective feedback to a laser diode 100. The diffraction device 115 is at least partially fabricated in a material whose refractive index is controllable so as to control the diffraction performance of the device. This allows the diffraction device 115 to be used in tuning the optical source, potentially without using moving parts. For instance, the refractive index can be controlled using a temperature change across material of the device 115. The diffraction device 115 can be mounted in free space in an external cavity with respect to the laser diode 100. Novel forms of diffraction device 115 are described. Tunable optical sources of this type can be used for instance in communications, particularly wavelength division multiplexing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2006
    Assignee: Optitune plc
    Inventors: Yakov Sidorin, Abdul H Damirji, Salah A Al-Chalabi
  • Patent number: 7016386
    Abstract: A broad area semiconductor laser device is provided having an NFP with top hat shaped profiles for the P wave and the S wave, which result from polarized beam splitting of the emitted light. The broad area semiconductor laser device of the present invention has the same structure as the broad area semiconductor laser device of the prior art, except that the composition of an etch stop layer is different. The semiconductor laser device includes an n-Al0.5Ga0.5As first clad layer, an active layer including an AlGaAs optical guide layer and an AlGaAs quantum well layer, a 0.3 ?m thick p-Al0.5G0.5As lower second clad layer, an Al0.7Ga0.3As etch stop layer, a p-Al0.5Ga0.5As upper second clad layer, and a p-GaAs contact layer, which form a laminated structure on top of an n-GaAs substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2006
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Kitamura
  • Patent number: 7012940
    Abstract: The present invention has the object of offering a laser resonator capable of maintaining high amplification efficiency even if the thermal lensing effect occurring in the laser medium varies during operation or over repeated operation and suspension of the laser device. The laser resonator comprises at least a pair of reflection portions (planar reflective mirrors 3) provided such as to allow a laser beam to oscillate therebetween; a laser medium provided on the optical path of the laser between the pair of reflection portions; an excitation portion (excitation laser device 5) for exciting the laser medium; an optical system (convex lens 1) provided on the optical path of the laser beam between the laser medium and the pair of reflection portions for changing the state of the laser in the laser medium; and a movement portion for moving the optical system along the optical axis of the laser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2006
    Assignee: Cyber Laser Inc.
    Inventors: Yusuke Tamaki, Hitoshi Sekita, Kazuya Takasago, Taisuke Miura
  • Patent number: 7010010
    Abstract: A broadband CLE capable of operation simultaneously at multiple wavelengths comprises: a core region including a multiplicity or cascade of stages, each stage including a radiative transition region. A first group of stages emits radiation at a first wavelength and at a first aggregate intensity per group, and a second group of stages emits radiation at a second wavelength and at a second aggregate intensity per group lower than the first intensity. The invention is characterized in that the second group has more stages than said first group, and the per-stage intensity of the first group is greater than that of the second group. This design reduces the difference between said first and second aggregate intensities. In one embodiment, groups that are located at or near to the ends of the cascade have more stages than groups that are centrally located within the cascade regardless of their wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2006
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Federico Capasso, Alfred Yi Cho, Claire F. Gmachl, Milton L. Peabody, Arthur Mike Sergent, Deborah Lee Sivco, Alexander Soibel
  • Patent number: 7003002
    Abstract: The present invention is a Raman laser and methods related thereto. In the preferred embodiments, the Raman laser comprises a laser pump signal in a fiber waveguide which is optically coupled to a micro-resonator through a fiber taper. The micro-resonator is constructed from a material that has a high Q when it is formed into a micro-resonator and is phase matched to the waveguide. The lasing frequency can be determined based upon the pump input or the micro-resonator material. In the preferred embodiments, the micro-resonator is constructed from a fused silica material. The present invention provides a compact laser with improved emissions and coupling efficiencies and the ability to use stimulated Raman scattering effects to create lasers having frequencies that are otherwise difficult to obtain. Alternative configurations include multiple micro-resonators on a single fiber waveguide and/or utilizing multiple waveguides attached to one or more micro-resonators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Kerry J. Vahala, Sean M. Spillane, Tobias J. Kippenberg
  • Patent number: 7003013
    Abstract: A DFB semiconductor laser device including an n-type semiconductor substrate and a layer structure, overlying the semiconductor substrate, including an active layer, a compound semiconductor layer constituting a diffraction grating and overlying the active layer, and an embedding layer embedding the diffraction grating, wherein said at least one of the compound semiconductor layer and the embedding layer has a carrier density of 7×1017 to 2×1018 cm?3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignee: The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomofumi Kise, Masaki Funabashi
  • Patent number: 7003009
    Abstract: An edge-emitting type 650 nm band red semiconductor laser device is provided, which includes a resonator structure having an active layer on a semiconductor substrate. A low reflection three-layer film is provided on an emitting edge face of the resonator structure and a high reflection multi-layer film is provided on a rear edge face of the resonator structure. The low reflection three-layer film is formed by sequentially stacking a first Al203 film having a thickness of 10 nm, a SiN4 film having a thickness of 190 nm, and a second Al203 film having a thickness of 10 nm on the emitting edge face by a sputtering process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takahiro Arakida, Hisashi Kudo
  • Patent number: 7002188
    Abstract: A laser-activated semiconductor switching device includes a semiconductor assembly including a multi-layer semiconductor structure having a first principal surface, and a laser assembly. The laser assembly includes at least one laser device and is directly connected to said first principal surface. The first principal surface includes a window area from which a metallization layer and an emitter layer of the semiconductor assembly are masked, such that laser light emitted from the laser assembly impinges through the window area directly onto a base layer of said semiconductor assembly to initiate current conduction by said switching device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2006
    Assignees: The Titan Corporation, The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Douglas M. Weidenheimer, David Giorgi, John Sethian
  • Patent number: 6999493
    Abstract: The invention provides a surface emission laser which can be operated with low-current drive, and a manufacturing method therefor. The invention also provides a light reception element which provides high-speed modulation, and a manufacturing method therefor. The invention also provides an optical transceiver module which provides enhanced optical connection efficiency. An opening portion from the other surface side of the semiconductor substrate to the end portion on the semiconductor substrate side of the light emission portion is formed on the semiconductor substrate of the surface emission laser, and a lens made of a transparent resin is formed through the use of the side surface of the opening portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2006
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Takeo Kaneko
  • Patent number: 6999486
    Abstract: In a semiconductor laser element having a plurality of semiconductor layers formed on a substrate, a groove-form concave portion is formed on the surface of the substrate opposite to the surface having the semiconductor layers. The concave portion is filled with metal having a higher heat conductivity higher than the substrate. The semiconductor laser element achieves improved heat dissipation characteristics and high reliability even under high-output operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2006
    Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Kuniyasu, Toshiro Hayakawa, Toshiaki Fukunaga
  • Patent number: 6996139
    Abstract: The integrated-optics coupling component is designed to cooperate with a transverse multimode power laser diode (2) with semi-conductor to form a transverse multimode power laser. It comprises an input zone (4) connected to at least one output waveguide (6) by at least two adiabatic tapering zones (5). At least two filtering windows (7) form the inputs of the adiabatic tapering zones (5) at the end of a diffraction zone defined by the input zone. Reflecting elements, for example a Bragg grating (12), can be arranged on the output waveguide. An emitting face (3) being antiglare-treated, an extended laser cavity oscillating on a single predetermined mode is thus defined between a reflecting rear face (11) of the laser diode and the reflecting elements (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2006
    Assignee: Teem Photonics
    Inventors: Denis Barbier, Pierre Benech
  • Patent number: 6993052
    Abstract: Method and system provide a variable delay between the external trigger pulse for a laser system and the light pulse such that the total delay is controlled. The method and system utilize a digital time measuring circuit which measure a time interval which corresponds to a time between the generation of the trigger pulse and generation or a laser light pulse. Based on the measurement by the digital time measuring circuit a processor controls a delay circuit which thereby controls the time between the trigger pulse and the generation of the laser light pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Lambda Physik AG
    Inventors: Rainer Desor, Thomas Wenzel
  • Patent number: 6993055
    Abstract: The specification discloses a resonant cavity device array for wavelength division multiplexing and the method for fabricating it. The structure of the resonant cavity device is selectively formed with an oxide structure, which contains more than one AlxGa1-xAs oxide tuning layer. After the oxidation of AlGaAs, AlGaO is formed to change the refractive index and the thickness, thereby changing and controlling the wavelength of the resonant cavity device. The wavelength variant of each resonant cavity device is determined by the number of layers, thicknesses and compositions of the AlxGa1-xAs oxide tuning layer contained in the selective oxide structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Jyh-Shyang Wang, Yi-Tsuo Wu, Nikolai A. Maleev, Alexey V. Sakharov, Alexey R. Kovsh