Abstract: A new class of lasers is provided that can be pumped by conventional high-power, multi-mode, broadband 1-D and 2-D laser diode arrays, where the pumped laser gain medium comprises an atomic vapor of one the alkali elements (Li, Na, K, Rb or Cs), buffered with a mixture of rare-gas (He, Ar, Kr, Ne or Xe) and selected molecular gases. The alkali atom gain medium is pumped at a wavelength matching the wavelength of the 2S1/2-2P3/2 electric-dipole-allowed transition (the D2 transition). After kinetic relaxation of pump excitation to the excited 2P1/2 electronic level, laser emission takes place on the 2P1/2-2S1/2 transition (the D1 transition).

Abstract: A dual III-V nitride laser structure has a thick current spreading layer on a sapphire substrate and a trench extending into the current spreading layer to reduce thermal cross-talk between the dual lasers.

Abstract: A side-pumped, diode-pumped solid state laser device includes an elongated housing having an elongated cavity defined therein and further having an elongated opening defined between the cavity and the exterior of the housing. A solid state rod is disposed within the cavity and is preferably surrounded by a cooling fluid. A cover seal sealably covering the opening and thereby encloses the cavity. The cover seal is formed of a material that is at least substantially transparent to pumping radiation at a predetermined pumping wavelength. A diode array emits the pumping radiation that traverses the cover seal and the opening to be absorbed by the rod to excite laser active species within the rod. The laser device further includes a resonator including the rod disposed therein for generating a laser beam.

Abstract: Disclosed is an external cavity diode laser system that includes a dispersion unit; a gain element producing coherent light incident upon the dispersion unit; and the dispersion unit dispersing the incident coherent light into dispersed light, the dispersed light comprising a reflected diffraction beam and at least one of angularly-separated source spontaneous emission or angularly-separated amplified spontaneous emission; a guiding dispersion unit that guides the dispersed light diffracted upon it from the dispersion unit while maintaining an angular separation between the reflected diffraction beam and at least one of angularly-separated source spontaneous emission or angularly-separated amplified spontaneous emission; and a physical filtering device that physically filters the reflected diffraction beam from the spatially separated at least one of angularly-separated source spontaneous emission or angularly-separated amplified spontaneous emission guided to the physical filtering device by the guiding unit

Abstract: A system and method for laser beam coupling between waveguide optics uses extension members to reduce power losses in a laser beam traveling within a resonator cavity of the laser beam. In some embodiments, the extension members are made of electrically conducting material and are spaced from longitudinal ends of electrodes by electrically insulating material. The electrically insulating material is sized to prevent electrical discharge from occurring between the electrode and the extension member adjacent thereto. In other embodiments, the extension members are fashioned from a lasing medium such as from a solid-state crystal lasing medium.

Abstract: A semiconductor laser module includes a casing defining a chamber, light-emitting means fixed to the casing in the chamber, and a fiber optic connector installed so as to communicate the chamber of the casing to outside. The light-emitting means is fixed to the casing by means of a heat sink. The light-emitting means includes a semiconductor chip mounted on the heat sink for generating laser light, a current supply means arranged near the semiconductor chip on the heat sink, and a collimator lens supported by the heat sink so as to oppose the semiconductor chip.

Abstract: A narrow band F2 laser system having two laser subsystems. The first laser subsystem is configured to provide a very narrow band pulsed beam at a first narrow wavelength range corresponding to a first natural emission line of the F2 laser system. This beam is injected into the gain medium of the second laser subsystem in a first direction where the beam is amplified to produce a narrow band pulsed output beam. The seed laser subsystem also produces a second pulsed beam at a second wavelength range corresponding to a second natural emission line of the F2 laser. This line is injected into the gain medium of the second laser subsystem in a second direction opposite said first direction. The second beam is amplified in the gain medium of the second laser subsystem depleting the gain medium of gain potential at the second wavelength range. (This amplified second beam is preferably wasted.

Abstract: Parasitic oscillations are eliminated in solid-state laser components by applying a pattern of grooves to the peripheral sections that do not transmit the desired laser radiation. Additionally, the invention frustrates total internal reflections at polished peripheral component walls by providing a pattern of roughened surface sections in between polished sections. The roughened surfaces may be only microns deep or may be as deep as a few centimeters for large components. The grooves should be sufficiently deep as to inhibit any total internal reflections. The invention applies to all common solid-state architectures that are designed with polished surfaces that do not serve to propagate the desired laser radiation. Examples are slabs, plates, laser rods, waveguides and disks functioning as laser oscillators or amplifiers. The invention is operational with conventional crystal or glass laser hosts or with hosts that are composites of same, similar or dissimilar crystals or glasses.

Abstract: A bipolar cascade-ARROW laser includes a plurality of core regions, at least one spacer disposed between each the plurality of core regions with each of the at least one spacers provided from a material having an index of refraction which is higher than an index of refraction of a material from which the core regions are provided. The bipolar cascade-ARROW laser further includes an anti-reflector disposed against each of the outermost ones of the core regions and at least one quantum well disposed in each of the plurality of core regions.

Abstract: A folded cavity laser for generating a laser beam, includes a substrate provided with a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR); an active medium formed above the DBR for amplifying the laser beam; a first and a second mirrors formed on sides of the active medium, respectively, for making a horizontal cavity and for reflecting the amplified laser beam to the DBR; and a microlens, formed on the substrate opposite the DBR, for making the amplified laser beam astigmatic after passing therethrough.

Abstract: A laser apparatus is described having multiple modes of operation using intracavity optical switching within a laser resonator. The laser resonator has a solid state gain medium and one or more optical switches located between a pair of end reflectors. The pump for the gain medium has controlled duration to allow varying the pumping energy and pulse repetition rate. The laser has a Q-switched mode for generating energy from the laser resonator at a fixed level of outcoupling when the laser pump is operated to produce a range of predetermined pulse, rates and durations. The laser also has a cavity dumped mode of operation in which the laser pump is operated to produce a second range of predetermined higher pulse repetition rates and shorter pulse durations so that the pulse energy, rate and duration are selected by first Q-switching with essentially no outcoupling and then rapidly cavity dumping all the optical energy in the resonator.

Abstract: Thick metal plates are used both as leads and substrate of a laser diode package. The laser diode and the metal plate are covered with a sealing glue up to the outside end of the laser diode to form a unitary structure. The thick metal plates serve as a heat sink. The outside end of the laser diode is not covered with glue so that the emitted is not attenuated. A photo diode is used to monitor the emitted light intensity. The photo diode can share a common electrode with the laser diode by mounting the photo diode on a step-down metal plate, so that the light emitted from the inside end of the laser diode is only partially blocked.

Abstract: There are provided a radio frequency excited slab waveguide laser and method of stabilizing the laser power and frequency using a detection circuit which uses a variation in an incident or reflecting radio frequency signal caused by an optogalvanic effect generated from the laser itself as a reference for the stabilization. The radio frequency excited slab waveguide laser having a radio frequency generator, an unstable resonator and a lock-in stabilizer further includes the detection circuit for detecting a current signal due to the optogalvanic effect generated from the unstable resonator itself to allow a signal detected by the detection circuit to be fed back to the lock-in stabilizer.

Abstract: Disclosed is a laser optical system including a multiline laser source that emits a laser beam having a plurality of peak wavelengths, an imaging optical system that converges the laser beam emitted from the multiline laser source to form beam spots of respective peak wavelengths on an object surface, and a correcting optical system that makes beam spots have the same diameter for at least two selected peak wavelengths. The correcting optical system adjusts a diameter of a laser beam incident on the imaging optical system such that the diameter of the incident laser beam becomes smaller as the wavelength of laser beam becomes shorter.

Abstract: A system for wavelength locking i.e. for maintaining a frequency of an optical signal to within predetermined limits has means for splitting part of the controlled optical signal into at least three sub-beams of which one is a reference beam and two others are provided to an optical element having a periodic output response and to a filter having a monotonic output response. The three detected outputs are analyzed and processed to determine accurately the wavelength of the optical signal and to produce a correcting signal if it is not within the predetermined limits.

Abstract: A single reference tone/frequency-based control scheme adjusts the DC bias voltage and modulation signal drive level to an external X-cut lithium niobate Mach Zehnder modulator, in accordance with phase quadrature components of the output of the single tone frequency generator. A pair of phase quadrature feedback loops are coupled through a loop filter of a common feedback path electo-optically coupled to monitor the optical output of the laser modulator. Quadrature-phase (Q) and in-phase (I) frequency components are respectively coupled to respective Q and I channel phase detectors, coupled to synchronous demodulators for the Q and I channel feedback loops. The phase detectors produce respective error voltages that close Q and I channel feedback loops and control the optical extinction ratio and DC bias voltage of the modulator.

Abstract: A laser scanning apparatus comprises a light source, a deflecting unit, a rotating guide, a drive motor and an image forming lens. The light source emits laser beams. The deflecting unit deflects the laser beams emitted by the light source into a scanning direction. The rotating guide has a plurality of guide holes for scanning the laser beams at a constant velocity, the rotating guide accommodating the deflecting unit and being positioned so that the light source lies on central axis of the rotating guide. The drive motor rotates the rotating guide while engaged with it, and the image forming lens focuses the laser beams passing through the guide holes of the rotating guide onto a surface.

Abstract: The pulsed laser control system comprises a plurality of controllers (2) through (6) for controlling devices (21) through (30) constituting the pulsed laser apparatus (1); parallel communication lines (P1) to (P4) for parallel connection of the plurality of controllers (2) through (6); an Ethernet (S) for serial connection of the plurality of controllers (2) through (6); parallel communication line (PP) for parallel connection between the external apparatus (10) and the main controller (2); and an Ethernet (SS) for serial connection between the external apparatus (10) and the main controller (2); wherein the parallel communication lines (P1) to (P4) and (PP) transmit signals for which realtime performance is required. With this construction, even if design changes are frequently made to a pulsed laser apparatus, the changes can be made easily and with little expansion space. Moreover, management of the devices constituting the pulsed laser apparatus can be easily performed.

Abstract: A stack of parallel but laterally separated laser beams emitted from a pair of laterally separated laser diode bars are focused into a single vertical plane through the use of an interleaved array of stacked, angular glass plates. Successive plates oppositely refract laser beams from successive radiating levels of the stacks of laser bars so that beams emerging from the glass plates lie in the same vertical plane, thereby overcoming the lateral displacement among beams emerging from the laser bars.

Abstract: A beam splitter (4) arranged in a laser beam (2) and at least two beam-deflecting devices (7) are provided in a system for at least far-reaching compensation of directional and positional fluctuations in the light beam (2) produced by a laser (1), in particular for micro lithographic illuminating devices. The beam splitter (4) guides a partial beam (2a) directly onto an illuminating reference surface (3) of the illuminating device, while a further partial beam (2b) is led back to the beam splitter (4) via a detour (5) in which the at least two beam-deflecting devices (6, 7) are located, and is subsequently likewise fed to the illuminating reference surface (3).