Abstract: A robust scalable laser. The laser includes plural fiber laser resonators. A cavity that is external to the fiber laser resonators combines plural laser beams output from the plural fiber laser resonators into a single output laser beam. In a specific embodiment, the plural fiber laser resonators are eye-safe double-clad Er:YAG laser resonators that are pumped via laser diode arrays.

Abstract: A solid-state suspension laser. The novel laser includes a gain medium comprised of a plurality of solid-state gain particles suspended in a fluid. The laser also includes a pump source for pumping the gain particles and a resonator for amplifying and outputting laser light generated by the gain medium. In an illustrative embodiment, the gain medium is adapted to flow, and the pumping of the gain medium occurs outside of the resonator. The flow velocities and the densities of the gain particles in the gain medium can be optimized for optimal absorption efficiency during the pumping and/or for optimal extraction efficiency in the resonator as well as for overall laser performance optimization, including power, efficiency and beam quality scalability.

Abstract: A glaze encapsulated solid-state laser component. The novel laser component includes a core and a cladding of ceramic glaze disposed on a surface of the core. In an illustrative embodiment, the core is fabricated from a laser gain medium and the cladding material is a multi-oxide eutectic ceramic glaze having a refractivity slighter lower than the refractivity of the gain medium, such that the glaze layer forms a step-index refractivity interface cladding that can effectively suppress parasitic oscillations in the core gain medium. The glaze cladding can be applied by coating the core with the glaze and then firing the glaze coated core, or by fabricating pre-formed cladding strips from the ceramic glaze in a first firing cycle, mounting the pre-formed strips to the core, and then fusing the pre-formed strips to the core in a secondary firing cycle.

Abstract: A laser. The novel laser includes a gain medium, a pump source adapted to optically excite the gain medium in a first location, and a resonator adapted to extract energy from the gain medium in a second location distinct from the first location. In an illustrative embodiment, the gain medium is comprised of a plurality of solid-state gain particles suspended in a fluid. The gain medium is adapted to flow, and optical excitation of the gain medium occurs outside of the resonator. In a preferred embodiment, the flow velocity and the density of gain particles in the gain medium are adjusted for optimal absorption efficiency during optical excitation and then for optimal extraction efficiency in the resonator. In addition, the resonator may be shaped for optimal extraction efficiency, while pump modules that hold the gain medium during optical excitation are shaped for optimal absorption efficiency.

Abstract: A glaze encapsulated solid-state laser component. The novel laser component includes a core and a cladding of ceramic glaze disposed on a surface of the core. In an illustrative embodiment, the core is fabricated from a laser gain medium and the cladding material is a multi-oxide eutectic ceramic glaze having a refractivity slighter lower than the refractivity of the gain medium, such that the glaze layer forms a step-index refractivity interface cladding that can effectively suppress parasitic oscillations in the core gain medium. The glaze cladding can be applied by coating the core with the glaze and then firing the glaze coated core, or by fabricating pre-formed cladding strips from the ceramic glaze in a first firing cycle, mounting the pre-formed strips to the core, and then fusing the pre-formed strips to the core in a secondary firing cycle.

Abstract: A glaze soldered solid-state laser active medium. The novel laser active medium includes a first section of a first material, a second section of a second material, and a layer of ceramic glaze joining the two sections. The first and second materials may be identical, similar, or dissimilar, and may include crystals or ceramics. The glaze is a multi-oxide eutectic ceramic glaze having a refractivity, light absorption, thermal expansion, and fusion temperature that are compatible with the first material. The sections are joined using a novel glaze soldering process that includes the steps of positioning the sections, applying the ceramic glaze between the sections, and firing the glaze to solder the sections together.

Abstract: An outcoupler having a wavelength selective, angle sensitive element or Bragg grating and an arrangement for maintaining the element in a predetermined orientation relative to an incident beam of electromagnetic energy. The Bragg grating may be reflective or transmissive. The inventive outcoupler may be used to implement a phase conjugate master oscillator power amplifier with an oscillator; a resonator in operational alignment with the oscillator; and an outcoupler in alignment with the oscillator. In the best mode, second and third Bragg gratings are included within the oscillator and the resonator, respectively.

Abstract: A thermal nonlinear cell and method. The cell includes a substantially planar nonlinear medium and a mechanism for removing thermal energy from the medium in a direction substantially orthogonal to said medium. In one embodiment, the mechanism for removing thermal energy is a thermally conductive window mounted adjacent to the medium. Preferably, the mechanism includes plural thermally conductive windows between which the nonlinear medium is disposed. In the best mode, the windows are sapphire and the nonlinear medium is a fluid. The windows and the medium are transmissive with respect to first and second beams that interfere with each other and create an interference pattern in the cell. The interference pattern is sampled by a sampling hologram created within the multiple layers of the medium. The interference pattern is used via a sampling hologram to create a phase conjugate of a signal beam. The windows move thermal energy from the medium in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the medium.

Abstract: A guiding nonlinearity cell. The novel nonlinearity cell includes a nonlinear medium and a waveguide adapted to guide input electromagnetic energy through the nonlinear medium. In an illustrative embodiment, the cell includes a thin layer of a liquid or solid nonlinear medium disposed between two parallel plates adapted to guide energy through the length of the medium by total internal reflection. The plates can be made from a material having a refractive index less than a refractive index of the medium to provide total internal reflection within the liquid, or they can be made from a material matching the refractive index of the medium such that outer walls of the plates provide total internal reflection, allowing energy to leak into the plates.

Abstract: A planar laser gain medium and laser system. The novel laser gain medium includes an active core having a high aspect ratio cross-section with a fast-axis dimension and a slow-axis dimension, signal claddings adapted to form reflective boundaries at fast-axis boundaries of the core, and a material adapted to minimize reflections at slow-axis boundaries of the core. In an illustrative embodiment, the laser gain medium is an optical fiber. The core and claddings form a waveguide adapted to control modes propagating in the fast-axis direction. When the laser gain medium is employed as a laser oscillator, a high reflectivity mirror and an outcoupler are positioned at opposite ends of the core to form a laser resonator adapted to control modes in the slow-axis direction.

Abstract: Alkali-vapor laser and related methods of lasing are described herein. In some embodiments, a diode-pumped gas-vapor laser is provided that can be scaled to high power. For example, in one embodiment, a triply-transverse configuration of a diode-pumped-alkali-laser (DPAL) is disclosed in which alkali-buffer gain medium is flowed through an laser chamber (for example, configured as an optical resonator or amplifier) whose optical axis is nominally transverse to the flow direction, and whose pump array radiation is propagated into the alkali-buffer gain medium in a direction nominally transverse to both the direction of gain medium flow and the direction of the optical axis.

Abstract: A high extraction efficiency laser system. The novel laser system includes a laser amplifier and a laser source adapted to provide a laser beam to the amplifier such that polarization states for incident and reflected light within the amplifier are perpendicular one to another. In an illustrative embodiment, the laser beam is input to the amplifier such that the beam reflects back and forth between the side walls of the amplifier with an angle of incidence of about 45 degrees, and the laser beam is linearly polarized in the plane of incidence. This arrangement reduces interference fringes in the amplifier. In an alternative embodiment, the system includes an aberrator adapted to add time-varying aberrations in the laser beam at a rate exceeding an inversed lifetime of an inverted population in the amplifier to increase spatial homogenization of saturation and extraction patterns in the amplifier.

Abstract: A high extraction efficiency laser system. The novel laser system includes a master oscillator for providing a laser beam, an amplifier adapted to amplify the laser beam, and an aberrator for aberrating the laser beam to prevent the formation of caustic intensity patterns within the amplifier. In an illustrative embodiment, the laser system also includes a depolarizer disposed between the master oscillator and the amplifier to reduce the contrast of speckle intensity patterns in the amplifier, and a mechanism adapted to rotate or otherwise move the aberrator to time-vary the aberrations in the beam in order to increase the spatial homogenization of saturation and extraction patterns in the amplifier. In a preferred embodiment, the coherence length of the beam is also shortened to reduce interference fringes in the amplifier.

Abstract: A laser system and method. The inventive laser includes an annular gain medium; a source of pump energy; and an arrangement for concentrating energy from the source on the gain medium. In a more specific implementation, a mechanism is included for rotating the gain medium to effect extraction of pump energy and cooling. In the illustrative embodiment, the pump source is a diode array. Energy from the array is coupled to the medium via an array of optical fibers. The outputs of the fibers are input to a concentrator that directs the pump energy onto a pump region of the medium. In the best mode, plural disks of gain media are arranged in an offset manner to provide a single resonator architecture. First and second mirrors are added to complete the resonator. In accordance with the inventive teachings, a method for pumping and cooling a laser is taught.

Abstract: A laser system and method. The inventive laser includes an annular gain medium; a source of pump energy; and an arrangement for concentrating energy from the source on the gain medium. In a more specific implementation, a mechanism is included for rotating the gain medium to effect extraction of pump energy and cooling. In the illustrative embodiment, the pump source is a diode array. Energy from the array is coupled to the medium via an array of optical fibers. The outputs of the fibers are input to a concentrator that directs the pump energy onto a pump region of the medium. In the best mode, plural disks of gain media are arranged in an offset manner to provide a single resonator architecture. First and second mirrors are added to complete the resonator. In accordance with the inventive teachings, a method for pumping and cooling a laser is taught.

Abstract: A laser system and method. The inventive laser includes an annular gain medium; a source of pump energy; and an arrangement for concentrating energy from the source on the gain medium. In a more specific implementation, a mechanism is included for rotating the gain medium to effect extraction of pump energy and cooling. In the illustrative embodiment, the pump source is a diode array. Energy from the array is coupled to the medium via an array of optical fibers. The outputs of the fibers are input to a concentrator that directs the pump energy onto a pump region of the medium. In the best mode, plural disks of gain media are arranged in an offset manner to provide a single resonator architecture. First and second mirrors are added to complete the resonator. In accordance with the inventive teachings, a method for pumping and cooling a laser is taught.

Abstract: A laser gain medium. The novel laser gain medium includes a host material, a plurality of quantum dots dispersed throughout the host material, and a plurality of laser active ions surrounding each of the quantum dots. The laser active ions are disposed in close proximity to the quantum dots such that energy absorbed by the quantum dots is non-radiatively transferred to the ions via a Forster resonant energy transfer, thereby exciting the ions to produce laser output. In an illustrative embodiment, each quantum dot is surrounded by an external shell doped with the laser active ions.

Abstract: A laser. The novel laser includes a gain medium, a pump source adapted to optically excite the gain medium in a first location, and a resonator adapted to extract energy from the gain medium in a second location distinct from the first location. In an illustrative embodiment, the gain medium is comprised of a plurality of solid-state gain particles suspended in a fluid. The gain medium is adapted to flow, and optical excitation of the gain medium occurs outside of the resonator. In a preferred embodiment, the flow velocity and the density of gain particles in the gain medium are adjusted for optimal absorption efficiency during optical excitation and then for optimal extraction efficiency in the resonator. In addition, the resonator may be shaped for optimal extraction efficiency, while pump modules that hold the gain medium during optical excitation are shaped for optimal absorption efficiency.

Abstract: A laser with a spectral converter. The novel laser includes a spectral converter adapted to absorb electromagnetic energy in a first frequency band and re-emit energy in a second frequency band, and a laser gain medium adapted to absorb the re-emitted energy and output laser energy. The spectral converter includes a plurality of quantum dots having an emission spectrum matching an absorption spectrum of the gain medium. In an illustrative embodiment, the spectral converter is adapted to convert broadband energy to narrowband energy, and the gain medium is a REI-doped solid-state laser gain medium.

Abstract: A thermal nonlinear cell and method. The cell includes a substantially planar nonlinear medium and a mechanism for removing thermal energy from the medium in a direction substantially orthogonal to said medium. In one embodiment, the mechanism for removing thermal energy is a thermally conductive window mounted adjacent to the medium. Preferably, the mechanism includes plural thermally conductive windows between which the nonlinear medium is disposed. In the best mode, the windows are sapphire and the nonlinear medium is a fluid. The windows and the medium are transmissive with respect to first and second beams that interfere with each other and create an interference pattern in the cell. The interference pattern is sampled by a sampling hologram created within the multiple layers of the medium. The interference pattern is used via a sampling hologram to create a phase conjugate of a signal beam. The windows move thermal energy from the medium in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the medium.