Patents by Inventor Roger L. Farrow
Roger L. Farrow 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).
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Publication number: 20180331488Abstract: An apparatus includes an optical gain fiber having a core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding defining an optical gain fiber numerical aperture, and a multimode fiber having a core with a larger radius than a radius of the optical gain fiber core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding of the multimode fiber defining a multimode fiber stable numerical aperture that is larger than the optical gain fiber numerical aperture, the multimode fiber being optically coupled to the optical gain fiber so as to receive an optical beam propagating in the optical gain fiber and to stably propagate the received optical beam in the multimode fiber core with low optical loss associated with the optical coupling.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 6, 2018Publication date: November 15, 2018Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.Inventors: Roger L. Farrow, Dahv A.V. Kliner
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Publication number: 20180239154Abstract: An optical power control system includes a laser source to provide an optical beam, a variable beam characteristics (VBC) fiber, and a controller operatively coupled to the VBC fiber and configured to control, in response to information indicating change in optical power of the optical beam, different states of perturbation so as to control optical power density.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2018Publication date: August 23, 2018Inventors: Robert J. Martinsen, Jacob L. Bell, Dahv A.V. Kliner, Roger L. Farrow
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Patent number: 10050404Abstract: An apparatus includes an optical gain fiber having a core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding defining an optical gain fiber numerical aperture, and a multimode fiber having a core with a larger radius than a radius of the optical gain fiber core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding of the multimode fiber defining a multimode fiber stable numerical aperture that is larger than the optical gain fiber numerical aperture, the multimode fiber being optically coupled to the optical gain fiber so as to receive an optical beam propagating in the optical gain fiber and to stably propagate the received optical beam in the multimode fiber core with low optical loss associated with the optical coupling.Type: GrantFiled: March 18, 2016Date of Patent: August 14, 2018Assignee: nLIGHT, Inc.Inventors: Roger L. Farrow, Dahv A. V. Kliner
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Publication number: 20180217324Abstract: Disclosed are an optical beam delivery device, systems, and methods for sequentially adjusting, with respect to members of a set of confinement regions, a propagation path for establishing a controllable, temporally apparent intensity distribution. The disclosed techniques entail applying to a variable beam characteristics (VBC) fiber different states perturbation to change the propagation path and the members of the set of confinement regions through which a confined portion of an adjusted optical beam propagates, thereby establishing at an output end of the VBC fiber the controllable, temporally apparent intensity distribution.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2018Publication date: August 2, 2018Inventors: Aaron W. Brown, Dahv A.V. Kliner, Roger L. Farrow
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Publication number: 20180217410Abstract: An optical beam delivery device is configured to generate, from an optical beam, selectable intensity profiles. The device has a first length of fiber having a first refractive index profile (RIP), and a second length of fiber having second RIP that is different from the first RIP. The second length of fiber includes coaxial confinement regions arranged to confine at least a portion of an adjusted optical beam. The confined portion corresponds to an intensity distribution of different intensity distributions. The intensity distribution is established by a corresponding state of different states of perturbation that is applied to the device such that the confined portion is configured to provide, at an output of the second length of fiber, a selected intensity profile of the selectable intensity profiles.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2018Publication date: August 2, 2018Inventors: Robert J. Martinsen, Dahv A.V. Kliner, Roger L. Farrow
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Publication number: 20180217407Abstract: An optical beam delivery device formed of optical fibers that are configured to produce an output exhibiting an intensity distribution profile having non-zero ellipticity includes a first length of fiber through which an incident optical beam having beam characteristics propagates and which has a first refractive index profile (RIP). The first RIP enables, in response to an applied perturbation, modification of the beam characteristics of the optical beam to form an adjusted beam having modified beam characteristics relative to the beam characteristics of the optical beam. A second length of fiber is coupled to the first length of fiber and formed with a set of one or more confinement regions that define a second RIP and confine at least a portion of the adjusted beam to generate, at an output of the second length of fiber, an intensity distribution profile having non-zero ellipticity.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 27, 2018Publication date: August 2, 2018Inventors: Dahv A.V. Kliner, Roger L. Farrow
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Publication number: 20180217386Abstract: An all-fiber optical beam switch mechanism includes a first length of fiber through which an incident optical beam having beam characteristics propagates along a first propagation path and which has a first refractive index profile (RIP). The first RIP enables, in response to an applied perturbation, modification of the optical beam to form an adjusted optical beam that is movable to propagate along a second propagation path. A second length of fiber is coupled to the first length of fiber and formed with multiple spaced-apart, non-coaxial confinement cores. A selected state of applied perturbation moves the second propagation path of the adjusted optical beam to a position of a selected corresponding one of the multiple confinement cores to confine and thereby direct the adjusted optical beam to a corresponding beam output location at the output of the second length of fiber.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 24, 2018Publication date: August 2, 2018Inventors: Scott R. Karlsen, Brian M. Victor, Roger L. Farrow
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Publication number: 20180217409Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, apparatus, and systems for providing an optical beam delivery system, comprising an optical fiber including a first length of fiber comprising a first RIP formed to enable, at least in part, modification of one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam by a perturbation assembly arranged to modify the one or more beam characteristics, the perturbation assembly coupled to the first length of fiber or integral with the first length of fiber, or a combination thereof and a second length of fiber coupled to the first length of fiber and having a second RIP formed to preserve at least a portion of the one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam modified by the perturbation assembly within one or more first confinement regions.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2018Publication date: August 2, 2018Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.Inventors: Dahv A.V. Kliner, Roger L. Farrow
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Publication number: 20180214979Abstract: An optical beam delivery device is formed of optical fibers configured for beam divergence or mode coupling control. An incident optical beam propagates through a first length of fiber, which is coupled to a second length of fiber and has a first refractive index profile (RIP). The first RIP enables, in response to an applied perturbation, modification of the beam characteristics of the incident optical beam to form an adjusted optical beam having modified beam characteristics relative to beam characteristics of the incident optical beam. The second length of fiber is formed with one or more confinement regions defining a second RIP and arranged to confine at least a portion of the adjusted optical beam. The second and first lengths of fiber are tapered in the direction of light beam propagation to control output beam divergence or susceptibility to beam mode coupling in the first length of fiber, respectively.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2018Publication date: August 2, 2018Inventors: Joona Koponen, Roger L. Farrow, Dahv A.V. Kliner
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Publication number: 20180217385Abstract: An optical beam delivery device establishes, from an optical beam, an optical trap that is moveable to different optical trap locations. The device has a first length of fiber through which the optical beam propagates along a propagation path and which has a first refractive index profile (RIP) enabling modification of the propagation path to form an adjusted optical beam movable to propagate along different propagation paths in response to different states of applied perturbation. The device also has a second length of fiber coupled to the first length of fiber and having confinement cores defining a second RIP. The confinement cores occupy different positions in, and correspond to the different optical trap locations at an output of, the second length of fiber.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 22, 2018Publication date: August 2, 2018Inventors: Chris A. Rivera, Roger L. Farrow
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Publication number: 20180203185Abstract: A method includes generating a multimode laser beam having an initial beam parameter product (bpp) and directing the multimode laser beam to an input end of a fiber so as to produce an output beam at an output of the fiber with a final bpp that is greater than the initial bpp. Another method includes measuring a base bpp associated with a multimode laser beam generated from a laser source and emitted from an output fiber output end, determining a bpp increase for the multimode laser beam, and selecting a bpp increasing optical fiber having an input end and an output end so that the multimode laser beam with the base bpp coupled to the input end has an output bpp at the output end of the bpp increasing optical fiber corresponding to the determined bpp increase.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 8, 2016Publication date: July 19, 2018Inventors: Roger L. FARROW, Chris A. RIVERA
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Publication number: 20180175578Abstract: An optical apparatus includes one or more pump sources situated to provide laser pump light, and a gain fiber optically coupled to the one or more pump sources, the gain fiber including an actively doped core situated to produce an output beam, an inner cladding and outer cladding surrounding the doped core and situated to propagate pump light, and a polymer cladding surrounding the outer cladding and situated to guide a selected portion of the pump light coupled into the inner and outer claddings of the gain fiber. Methods of pumping a fiber sources include generating pump light from one or more pump sources, coupling the pump light into a glass inner cladding and a glass outer cladding of a gain fiber of the fiber source such that a portion of the pump light is guided by a polymer cladding surrounding the glass outer cladding, and generating a single-mode output beam from the gain fiber.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 13, 2017Publication date: June 21, 2018Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.Inventors: Dahv A.V. Kliner, Roger L. Farrow
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Patent number: 9917410Abstract: Fiber amplifier and/or mode filter including a linearly birefringent LMA fiber coiled at a radius of curvature over a bend length to differentiate a fundamental optical mode from supported higher-order modes through bending losses. The LMA fiber may be a polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber having a variety of geometrical core shapes and cladding configurations. In some embodiments, the birefringent LMA fiber includes a radially asymmetric core that is angularly rotated over a length of the coiled fiber to ensure bending losses are experienced in orthogonally oriented higher-order modes associated with some orientation relative to the core orientation. In some embodiments, the fiber coiling is two-dimensional with bending occurring only about one axis. In some embodiments, an asymmetric core is pre-spun to a predetermined axial spin profile. In some embodiments, angular rotation of the core is achieved through mechanically twisting an un-spun fiber over a length of the coil.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2016Date of Patent: March 13, 2018Assignee: nLIGHT, Inc.Inventors: Matthieu Saracco, David N. Logan, Timothy S. McComb, Roger L. Farrow
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Patent number: 9837783Abstract: An optical apparatus includes one or more pump sources situated to provide laser pump light, and a gain fiber optically coupled to the one or more pump sources, the gain fiber including an actively doped core situated to produce an output beam, an inner cladding and outer cladding surrounding the doped core and situated to propagate pump light, and a polymer cladding surrounding the outer cladding and situated to guide a selected portion of the pump light coupled into the inner and outer claddings of the gain fiber. Methods of pumping a fiber sources include generating pump light from one or more pump sources, coupling the pump light into a glass inner cladding and a glass outer cladding of a gain fiber of the fiber source such that a portion of the pump light is guided by a polymer cladding surrounding the glass outer cladding, and generating a single-mode output beam from the gain fiber.Type: GrantFiled: January 22, 2016Date of Patent: December 5, 2017Assignee: nLIGHT, Inc.Inventors: Dahv A. V. Kliner, Roger L. Farrow
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Publication number: 20170271837Abstract: A method of spectrally multiplexing diode pump modules to increase brightness includes generating one or more pump beams from respective diode lasers at a first wavelength in a diode laser package, generating one or more pump beams from respective diode lasers at a second wavelength different from the first wavelength in the diode laser package, wavelength combining at least one of the pump beams at the first wavelength with at least one of the pump beams at the second wavelength to form one or more combined pump beams, and receiving the combined pump beams in a pump fiber coupled to the diode laser package. Laser systems can include multi-wavelength pump modules and a gain fiber having a core actively doped so as to have an absorption spectrum corresponding to the multiple wavelength, the gain fiber situated to receive the pump light and to produce an output beam at an output wavelength.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 17, 2017Publication date: September 21, 2017Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.Inventors: David Martin Hemenway, David C. Dawson, Wolfram Urbanek, Roger L. Farrow, Dahv A.V. Kliner
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Publication number: 20170162999Abstract: Fiber amplifier and/or mode filter including a linearly birefringent LMA fiber coiled at a radius of curvature over a bend length to differentiate a fundamental optical mode from supported higher-order modes through bending losses. The LMA fiber may be a polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber having a variety of geometrical core shapes and cladding configurations. In some embodiments, the birefringent LMA fiber includes a radially asymmetric core that is angularly rotated over a length of the coiled fiber to ensure bending losses are experienced in orthogonally oriented higher-order modes associated with some orientation relative to the core orientation. In some embodiments, the fiber coiling is two-dimensional with bending occurring only about one axis. In some embodiments, an asymmetric core is pre-spun to a predetermined axial spin profile. In some embodiments, angular rotation of the core is achieved through mechanically twisting an un-spun fiber over a length of the coil.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 28, 2016Publication date: June 8, 2017Inventors: Matthieu Saracco, David N. Logan, Timothy S. McComb, Roger L. Farrow
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Publication number: 20160285227Abstract: An apparatus includes an optical gain fiber having a core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding defining an optical gain fiber numerical aperture, and a multimode fiber having a core with a larger radius than a radius of the optical gain fiber core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding of the multimode fiber defining a multimode fiber stable numerical aperture that is larger than the optical gain fiber numerical aperture, the multimode fiber being optically coupled to the optical gain fiber so as to receive an optical beam propagating in the optical gain fiber and to stably propagate the received optical beam in the multimode fiber core with low optical loss associated with the optical coupling.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 18, 2016Publication date: September 29, 2016Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.Inventors: Roger L. Farrow, Dahv A.V. Kliner
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Publication number: 20160218476Abstract: An optical apparatus includes one or more pump sources situated to provide laser pump light, and a gain fiber optically coupled to the one or more pump sources, the gain fiber including an actively doped core situated to produce an output beam, an inner cladding and outer cladding surrounding the doped core and situated to propagate pump light, and a polymer cladding surrounding the outer cladding and situated to guide a selected portion of the pump light coupled into the inner and outer claddings of the gain fiber. Methods of pumping a fiber sources include generating pump light from one or more pump sources, coupling the pump light into a glass inner cladding and a glass outer cladding of a gain fiber of the fiber source such that a portion of the pump light is guided by a polymer cladding surrounding the glass outer cladding, and generating a single-mode output beam from the gain fiber.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 22, 2016Publication date: July 28, 2016Applicant: nLIGHT Photonics CorporationInventors: Dahv A.V. Kliner, Roger L. Farrow
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Patent number: 9397466Abstract: An optical amplification system is disclosed which includes a seed source providing a seed beam, and a chirally coupled core fiber amplifier optically coupled to the seed beam and configured to convert the coupled seed beam into an amplifier output beam, wherein the polarization of the seed beam is controllably launched into the chirally coupled core fiber in order to reduce nonlinearities in the amplifier output beam. Peak output powers in excess of 500 kW can be realized for short-pulsed single-mode beams having mode field diameters greater than 30 ?m.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2014Date of Patent: July 19, 2016Assignee: nLIGHT, Inc.Inventors: Timothy S. McComb, Roger L. Farrow
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Publication number: 20160013607Abstract: An optical amplification system is disclosed which includes a seed source providing a seed beam, and a chirally coupled core fiber amplifier optically coupled to the seed beam and configured to convert the coupled seed beam into an amplifier output beam, wherein the polarization of the seed beam is controllably launched into the chirally coupled core fiber in order to reduce nonlinearities in the amplifier output beam. Peak output powers in excess of 500 kW can be realized for short-pulsed single-mode beams having mode field diameters greater than 30 ?m.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 11, 2014Publication date: January 14, 2016Inventors: Timothy S. McComb, Roger L. Farrow