Patents by Inventor Laura D. DeLoach

Laura D. DeLoach has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Ytterbium-doped borate fluoride laser crystals and lasers
    Patent number: 5677921
    Abstract: A new class of solid state laser crystals and lasers are formed from Yb-doped borate fluoride host crystals. The general formula for the host crystals is MM'(BO.sub.3)F, where M, M' are monovalent, divalent aria trivalent metal cations. A particular embodiment of the invention is Yb-doped BaCaBO.sub.3 F (Yb:BCBF). BCBF and some of the related derivative crystals are capable of nonlinear frequency conversion, whereby the fundamental of the laser is converted to a longer or shorter wavelength. In this way, these new crystals can simultaneously serve as self-frequency doubling crystals and laser materials within the laser resonator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 14, 1997
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Kathleen I. Schaffers, Laura D. DeLoach, Stephen A. Payne, Douglas A. Keszler
  • Transition-metal doped sulfide, selenide, and telluride laser crystal and lasers
    Patent number: 5541948
    Abstract: A new class of solid state laser crystals and lasers are formed of transition metal doped sulfide, selenide, and telluride host crystals which have four fold coordinated substitutional sites. The host crystals include II-VI compounds. The host crystal is doped with a transition metal laser ion, e.g., chromium, cobalt or iron. In particular, Cr.sup.2+ -doped ZnS and ZnSe generate laser action near 2.3 .mu.m. Oxide, chloride, fluoride, bromide and iodide crystals with similar structures can also be used. Important aspects of these laser materials are the tetrahedral site symmetry of the host crystal, low excited state absorption losses and high luminescence efficiency, and the d.sup.4 and d.sup.6 electronic configurations of the transition metal ions. The same materials are also useful as saturable absorbers for passive Q-switching applications. The laser materials can be used as gain media in amplifiers and oscillators; these gain media can be incorporated into waveguides and semiconductor lasers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 30, 1996
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: William F. Krupke, Ralph H. Page, Laura D. DeLoach, Stephen A. Payne
  • Ytterbium- and neodymium-doped vanadate laser hose crystals having the apatite crystal structure
    Patent number: 5341389
    Abstract: Yb.sup.3+ and Nd.sup.3+ doped Sr.sub.5 (VO.sub.4).sub.3 F crystals serve as useful infrared laser media that exhibit low thresholds of oscillation and high slope efficiencies, and can be grown with high optical quality. These laser media possess unusually high absorption and emission cross sections, which provide the crystals with the ability to generate greater gain for a given amount of pump power. Many related crystals such as Sr.sub.5 (VO.sub.4).sub.3 F crystals doped with other rare earths, transition metals, or actinides, as well as the many structural analogs of Sr.sub.5 (VO.sub.4).sub.3 F, where the Sr.sup.2+ and F.sup.- ions are replaced by related chemical species, have similar properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 23, 1994
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Stephen A. Payne, Wayne L. Kway, Laura D. DeLoach, William F. Krupke, Bruce H. T. Chai