Optical Fiber Laser Patents (Class 372/6)
  • Patent number: 8599888
    Abstract: The pulse light source comprises a seed light source, a first YbDF, a band-pass filter, a second YbDF, and a third YbDF, and has the MOPA structure. The band-pass filter inputs pulse light which is outputted from the seed light source and amplified by the first stage YbDF, and outputs, while separating a wavelength band of the inputted pulse light into a shorter wavelength side and a longer wavelength side with reference to a peak wavelength of the inputted pulse light, the attenuated pulse light after attenuating the optical power on one side more than the optical power on the other side between the shorter and longer wavelength sides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
    Assignee: Megaopto Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Motoki Kakui
  • Patent number: 8599476
    Abstract: A synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO) comprises a nonlinear optical medium positioned in an optical resonator (e.g., a ring resonator) and is pumped by a pump laser source. A first arrangement includes a positioning mechanism for translating the nonlinear optical medium so OPO resonant modes propagate through one of multiple longitudinal regions arranged for differing odd orders of quasi-phase-matching. A second arrangement includes a pump fiber laser oscillator stretched to adjust its repetition rate to match that of the OPO. A third arrangement includes a time-domain-multiplexer (TDM) fiber loop between a pump fiber laser oscillator and fiber laser amplification stage(s). The TDM loop increases the pump repetition rate to enable increased average pump power without increased peak power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
    Assignee: Microtech Instruments, Inc.
    Inventors: Vladimir G. Kozlov, Walter C. Hurlbut
  • Patent number: 8599887
    Abstract: A laser system comprises a high-Q nonlinear optical resonator, a cavity comprising an amplifying element and a dispersive element, an optical delay line adapted to tune the length of the cavity, and a large pass-band filter adapted to tune the cavity's central oscillation wavelength, the nonlinear optical resonator being selected with a linewidth (LWR) comparable to the cavity free-spectral range (FSRC). There is provided a method for generating highly stable pulse streams, comprising providing a cavity comprising an amplifying element and a dispersive element; selecting a high-Q nonlinear optical resonator with a linewidth (LWR) comparable to the cavity free-spectral range (FSRC); tuning the length of the cavity; and tuning the cavity's central oscillation wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
    Assignee: Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)
    Inventors: Marco Peccianti, Alessia Pasquazi, David Moss, Roberto Morandotti
  • Publication number: 20130313440
    Abstract: Improved laser systems and associated techniques generate an ultra-violet (UV) wavelength of approximately 193.368 nm from a fundamental vacuum wavelength near 1064 nm. Preferred embodiments separate out an unconsumed portion of an input wavelength to at least one stage and redirect that unconsumed portion for use in another stage. The improved laser systems and associated techniques result in less expensive, longer life lasers than those currently being used in the industry. These laser systems can be constructed with readily-available, relatively inexpensive components.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Publication date: November 28, 2013
    Applicant: KLA-Tencor Corporation
    Inventors: Yung-Ho Chuang, J. Joseph Armstrong, Vladimir Dribinski, John Fielden
  • Patent number: 8591105
    Abstract: The invention relates to an optical element for guiding and forming a laser beam, and to a method for recording beam parameters, particularly in a laser system, comprising a carrier substrate (40) and a coating (39), which is applied to at least one side of the carrier substrate (40), and comprising at least one temperature sensor (38). The temperature sensor (38) is comprised of a number of pixels arranged in a matrix, and each respective pixel has at least one temperature-sensitive element (39). The at least one temperature-sensitive element (39) of the pixel is constructed inside the carrier substrate (40) made of silicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG
    Inventors: Jürgen-Michael Weick, Armin Horn, Gerhard Hammann, Peter Laitenberger, Nick Collier, Ross Peter Jones
  • Patent number: 8593726
    Abstract: Apparatus for producing short optical pulses comprising an oscillator for producing optical pulses at a first optical pulse frequency, the optical pulses having a first wavelength; first and second optical amplifiers; a pulse picker, located between the first and second optical fiber amplifiers, the pulse picker operable to reduce the optical pulse frequency of optical pulses, the amplifier amplifying optical pulses at the first optical pulse frequency and the second amplifier amplifying optical pulses at a reduced optical pulse frequency that is less than said first optical pulse frequency; and a nonlinear optical fiber receiving amplified optical pulses at the reduced optical pulse frequency and having the first wavelength to nonlinearly produce, at the reduced optical pulse frequency, optical pulses that include a wavelength that is different than the first wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: Fianium Ltd.
    Inventors: John Redvers Clowes, Anatoly Borisovich Grudinin, Ian Michael Godfrey, Kestutis Vysniauskas
  • Publication number: 20130308661
    Abstract: The optical fiber of the present invention has an input double-clad fiber containing high-reflection FBG, an oscillation double-clad fiber, and an output double-clad fiber containing low-reflection FBG. The output double-clad fiber is formed of a core, a first clad, and a second clad. In the output double-clad fiber, a high refractive-index resin coat section recoated with high refractive-index resin whose refractive index is the same as that of the second clad or greater is disposed at a part where the second clad is partly removed between an output end and the low-reflection FBG. The refractive index of the high refractive-index resin coat section gradually increases along the direction in which light travels through the first clad.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2012
    Publication date: November 21, 2013
    Applicant: PANASONIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hitoshi Nishimura, Hideaki Itoh
  • Patent number: 8588267
    Abstract: An array of optical fibers includes a plurality of optical fibers. Each optical fiber includes a core having a substantially rectangular cross section, and cladding surrounding the core. The cladding includes a pair of substantially parallel flats. The array of optical fibers can be used in combination with a plurality of laser diodes to provide a laser pump whereby an input end of each optical fiber is optically coupled to the output of a respective one of the plurality of laser diodes, and where the output ends of the optical fibers are arranged in an array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2013
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventor: David L. Panak
  • Patent number: 8588263
    Abstract: Apparatus and method for generating controlled-linewidth laser-seed-signals for high-powered fiber-laser amplifier systems. In some embodiments, the natural chirp (frequency change of laser light over a short start-up time) of a DBR laser diode when driven by pulsed current is used to broaden the linewidth of the laser output, while adjusting the peak current and/or the pulse duration to obtain the desired linewidth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2013
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Eric C. Honea, Jason D. Henrie, Matthias P. Savage-Leuchs, Lawrence A. Borschowa, Anping Liu
  • Publication number: 20130301663
    Abstract: A laser system for generating optical pulses at an operating wavelength of the laser system. The system has an optical resonator comprising first and second reflectors, and a tapered optical fiber disposed between the first and second reflectors. The tapered optical fiber has a core which has a tapered input section which tapers from single mode to multimode at the laser operating wavelength, an inner section of substantially constant diameter capable of supporting multiple modes at the laser operating wavelength and a tapered output section which tapers from a first diameter to a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 8, 2013
    Publication date: November 14, 2013
    Applicant: Fianium Ltd.
    Inventors: John Redvers Clowes, Jonathan William Gill, Stephen Green, Mridu Kalita, Adam Lee Devine, Anatoly Borisovich Grudinin
  • Publication number: 20130299474
    Abstract: A fiber laser apparatus that generates invisible laser light using an amplification optical fiber having a single-mode core and outputs the invisible laser light via an output optical fiber is provided. The fiber laser apparatus includes a visible laser light source that generates visible laser light, an introducing section that introduces the visible laser light generated by the visible laser light source into a core of one of the amplification optical fiber and the output optical fiber, and a drive unit that drives, in a case of performing alignment of an irradiation position of the invisible laser light with respect to a workpiece, the visible laser light source and emits the visible laser light via the core of the output optical fiber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2013
    Publication date: November 14, 2013
    Inventors: Kosuke KASHIWAGI, Akira FUJISAKI, Yoshihiro EMORI
  • Patent number: 8582608
    Abstract: A twin fiber laser arrangement is configured with active and passive fibers supporting respective signal and pump lights and a reflective coating surrounding the fibers along a section of the arrangement. The passive fiber has regions covered by respective protective layer and coating-free regions alternating with the layer covered regions, wherein the reflective coating is configured to overlap the protective layer which shields the end of the reflective coating from high power pump light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: IPG Photonics Corporation
    Inventors: Valentin Gapontsev, Vladimir Grigoriev, Volodia Sergueev, Ilia Zaytsev
  • Patent number: 8582609
    Abstract: Techniques and devices for generating laser light that use large mode area fiber amplifiers and curved fiber sections to achieve desired operations in a fundamental fiber mode with high pulse quality and optical beam quality while reducing presence of high order fiber modes in continuous wave and pulsed laser devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: Calmar Optcom, Inc.
    Inventors: Sha Tong, Jerry Prawiharjo, Anthony Hong Lin
  • Patent number: 8571074
    Abstract: [Object] An object of the invention is to provide a fiber laser device capable of stabilizing intensity of laser light output therefrom. [Means to attain the object] A fiber laser device 100 includes: an pumping light source 11 configured to output pumping light; a rare earth-doped fiber 20 to which the pumping light is input; and a first FBG 30 formed on one side of the rare earth-doped fiber 20 and a second FBG 40 formed on the other side of the rare earth-doped fiber 20 that are configured to reflect light amplified in the rare earth-doped fiber 20, wherein the second FBG 40 has a reflectance lower than that of the first FBG 30, a reflection wavelength band in that of the first FBG 30, and Bragg wavelength on short wavelength side of Bragg wavelength of the first FBG 30.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventor: Kensuke Shima
  • Patent number: 8571075
    Abstract: A frequency comb laser providing large comb spacing is disclosed. At least one embodiment includes a mode locked waveguide laser system. The mode locked waveguide laser includes a laser cavity having a waveguide, and a dispersion control unit (DCU) in the cavity. The DCU imparts an angular dispersion, group-velocity dispersion (GVD) and a spatial chirp to a beam propagating in the cavity. The DCU is capable of producing net GVD in a range from a positive value to a negative value. In some embodiments a tunable fiber frequency comb system configured as an optical frequency synthesizer is provided. In at least one embodiment a low phase noise micro-wave source may be implemented with a fiber comb laser having a comb spacing greater than about 1 GHz. The laser system is suitable for mass-producible fiber comb sources with large comb spacing and low noise. Applications include high-resolution spectroscopy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Imra America, Inc.
    Inventors: Martin Fermann, Ingmar Hartl
  • Patent number: 8565273
    Abstract: An optical fiber laser including: a master oscillator; and a power amplifier, the power amplifier including: a plurality of excitation light sources; excitation ports each of which is connected to the excitation light sources and which an excitation light emitted from each of the excitation light source enters; a signal port which a laser beam emitted from the master oscillator enters; an optical coupler with an exit port that outputs the excitation lights from the excitation ports together with the laser beam from the signal port; and an optical fiber connected to the exit port, in which the optical fiber is a photonic bandgap fiber, and the optical fiber has a loss wavelength characteristic in that a photonic bandgap region is narrower than a gain wavelength band in a graph with an axis of abscissa representing a wavelength and an axis of ordinate representing a loss amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomoharu Kitabayashi
  • Patent number: 8565277
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a pulse modulation method and the like having a structure for effectively suppressing nonlinear optical phenomena which increase as an optical pulse becomes wider when amplifying the optical pulse with a predetermined period as seed light. A modulator performs pulse modulation for a laser light source which is a seed light source or light outputted from the laser light source. A modulation pattern of a modulated voltage outputted from the modulator is adjusted such as to include a plurality of pulse components each having a signal width shorter than the pulse width of the optical pulse as an optical pulse generation pattern within a modulation period corresponding to a period of the optical pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Shinobu Tamaoki
  • Patent number: 8565272
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventors: Vladimir V. Shkunov, Alexander A. Betin, David A. Rockwell
  • Patent number: 8554035
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing optical pulses of a desired wavelength. The apparatus includes an optical pulse source operable to generate input optical pulses at a first wavelength. The apparatus further includes a higher-order-mode (HOM) fiber module operable to receive the input optical pulses at the first wavelength, and thereafter to produce output optical pulses at the desired wavelength by soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS). The present invention also relates to a method of producing optical pulses having a desired wavelength. This method includes generating input optical pulses using an optical pulse source, where the input optical pulses have a first wavelength and a first spatial mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Cornell Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Chris Xu, James Van Howe, Jennifer Lee
  • Publication number: 20130259069
    Abstract: A fiber laser apparatus in which pump light is introduced into an optical fiber to generate laser light includes a detecting section that detects signal light leaking out from a core of the optical fiber as leakage signal light, a determining section that determines that, in a case where there is a decrease in an intensity of the leakage signal light detected in the detecting section, a failure of the fiber has occurred, and a stopping section that stops, in a case where the determining section has determined that a failure of the fiber has occurred, the introduction of the pump light into the optical fiber. The detecting section detects the leakage signal light leaking out of a High Reflectivity FBG that is provided on a side opposite to an output side of the laser light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2013
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Inventors: Taizo Miyato, Kosuke Kashiwagi, Yoshihiro Emori, Akira Fujisaki
  • Publication number: 20130259070
    Abstract: Modelocked fiber laser resonators may be coupled with optical amplifiers. An isolator optionally may separate the resonator from the amplifier. A reflective optical element on one end of the resonator having a relatively low reflectivity may be employed to couple light from the resonator to the amplifier. Enhanced pulse-width control may be provided with concatenated sections of both polarization-maintaining and non-polarization-maintaining fibers. Apodized fiber Bragg gratings and integrated fiber polarizers may also be included in the laser cavity to assist in linearly polarizing the output of the cavity. Very short pulses with a large optical bandwidth may be obtained by matching the dispersion value of the grating to the inverse of the dispersion of the intra-cavity fiber. Frequency comb sources may be constructed from such modelocked fiber oscillators. Low dispersion and an in-line interferometer that provides feedback may assist in controlling the frequency components output from the comb source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2013
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Inventors: Martin E. Fermann, Ingmar Hartl, Gennady Imeshev
  • Patent number: 8548014
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to providing an environmentally stable, ultra-short pulse source. Exemplary embodiments relate to passively modelocked ultra-short fiber lasers which are insensitive to temperature variations and which possess only negligible sensitivity to pressure variations. Further, exemplary embodiments can be implemented in a cost-effective manner which render them commercially practical in unlimited applications. Arbitrary fiber lengths (e.g., on the order of 1 millimeter to 1 kilometer, or greater) can be used to provide an ultra-short pulse with a cost-effective architecture which is commercially practical.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: IMRA America, Inc.
    Inventors: Martin E. Fermann, Donald J. Harter
  • Patent number: 8548013
    Abstract: This fiber laser is provided with: a signal light source that outputs a signal light; a rare earth-doped fiber that amplifies and outputs the signal light from the signal light source; a Raman amplifying fiber that is routed as a portion of an optical transmission path in order to output the output light from the rare earth-doped fiber to an outside thereof; and a wavelength selecting element that is provided in the optical transmission path from the Raman amplifying fiber to the signal light source and does not allow transmission of a Stokes light that is generated in the Raman amplifying fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikara Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoharu Kitabayashi, Tetsuya Sakai, Michihiro Nakai
  • Patent number: 8542710
    Abstract: An optical fiber amplifier (2) includes: a first pumping source (10); a second pumping source (20); an amplification optical fiber (3) in which an active element is doped; a first optical filter (15) coupled to the first pumping source (10) and one end of the amplification optical fiber (30), the first optical filter (15) transmitting a light at a wavelength the same as the wavelength of a first pumping light and reflecting a light at a wavelength the same as the wavelength of a second pumping light; and a second optical filter (25) coupled to the second pumping source (20) and the other end of the amplification optical fiber (3), the second optical filter (25) transmitting a light at a wavelength the same as the wavelength of the second pumping light and reflecting a light at a wavelength the same as the wavelength of the first pumping light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomoharu Kitabayashi
  • Patent number: 8542711
    Abstract: A laser diode driving device (1) of the present invention includes: a variable DC power supply (3) for outputting a voltage for driving laser diodes (LD1 to LDn); a current driving element (4) for causing a current If to flow; a current control section (5) for controlling (i) turning on and off of the current driving element (4) and (ii) the amount of the current If; and a power supply control section (7) for controlling an output voltage of the variable DC power supply (3). The power supply control section (7) controls, on the basis of If-Vf characteristic data (D2), voltage drop characteristic data (D3), and Vds setting data (D4) all stored in a memory section (8), the output voltage of the variable DC power supply (3) so that the current driving element (4) has a constant inter-terminal voltage regardless of the amount of the current If.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventor: Kotaro Shimokoshi
  • Patent number: 8537871
    Abstract: A high power cladding light stripper and high power laser systems using the same are described. A cladding light stripper includes a housing, a section of fiber disposed in relation to the housing wherein a portion of the section of fiber has an exposed cladding region, a plurality of glue regions sequentially arranged adjacent to each other along the section of fiber and covering the exposed cladding region, and wherein at least one glue region between a first glue region and a last glue region of the plurality of glue regions has a refractive index higher or lower than both an adjacent previous glue region and an adjacent subsequent glue region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: nLIGHT Photonics Corporation
    Inventor: Matthieu Saracco
  • Patent number: 8537865
    Abstract: A fiber is laser is pumped by radiation from a plurality of diode-laser bars which are wavelength-locked by a single feedback mirror in combination with a single band-pass filter. The locked wavelength of the plurality of diode-laser bars is tunable by tilt-tuning the band-pass filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Coherent, Inc.
    Inventor: Nathan Shou
  • Patent number: 8537864
    Abstract: A pulsed laser comprises an oscillator and amplifier. An attenuator and/or pre-compressor may be disposed between the oscillator and amplifier to improve performance and possibly the quality of pulses output from the laser. Such pre-compression may be implemented with spectral filters and/or dispersive elements between the oscillator and amplifier. The pulsed laser may have a modular design comprising modular devices that may have Telcordia-graded quality and reliability. Fiber pigtails extending from the device modules can be spliced together to form laser system. In one embodiment, a laser system operating at approximately 1050 nm comprises an oscillator having a spectral bandwidth of approximately 19 nm. This oscillator signal can be manipulated to generate a pulse having a width below approximately 90 fs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: IMRA America, Inc.
    Inventors: Xinhua Gu, Mark Bendett, Gyu Cheon Cho
  • Patent number: 8532150
    Abstract: Techniques and devices for generating laser light that use large mode area fiber amplifiers and designed coiling fiber sections to achieve desired operations in a fundamental fiber mode with high pulse quality and optical beam quality while reducing presence of high order fiber modes in continuous wave (CW) and pulsed laser devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Calmar Optcom, Inc.
    Inventors: Sha Tong, Jerry Prawiharjo, Anthony Hong Lin
  • Publication number: 20130230061
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention include a fiber laser cavity package having improved fiber management and thermal management capability and methods of making such fiber laser cavity package. Each element of the fiber laser cavity is grouped into plurality of sections and each section is placed onto a heat conducting surface within the fiber laser cavity package to dissipate unwanted heat from the elements. When the fiber laser cavity is stored in the package, the fiber laser cavity is arranged such that fiber crossings are substantially reduced or eliminated within the package.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2013
    Publication date: September 5, 2013
    Applicant: OFS Fitel, LLC
    Inventors: Hao Dong, William R. Holland, Jerome C. Porque, William J. Strachan
  • Patent number: 8526775
    Abstract: A fiber fuse terminator including an optical fiber with a core and cladding having holes, wherein: a refractive index of the core of the optical fiber is higher than a refractive index of a portion of the cladding excepting portions of the holes; wherein: a mode field diameter at a used wavelength of the optical fiber is MFD, and a distance in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the optical fiber between a center of the core and a position, closest to the center of the core, of the hole that is closest to the core is Rmin, is no less than 1.2 and no more than 2.1; a width, in a diameter direction, of a region where the holes present in the cladding is W, is no less than 0.3; and a diameter of the cladding of the optical fiber is Dfiber, W?0.45×Dfiber is satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventor: Katsuhiro Takenaga
  • Publication number: 20130222891
    Abstract: A single-mode fiber with certain parameters into the core of another fiber with different parameters; in particular single-mode guided light of a shorter wavelength is coupled into the core of a fiber which is a single-mode fiber at a longer wavelength but acts as multimode fiber for the shorter wavelength. Fabrication involves use of a model to determine a length of a pre-taper.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2013
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Applicant: LASER ZENTRUM HANNOVER E.V.
    Inventor: LASER ZENTRUM HANNOVER E.V.
  • Publication number: 20130215914
    Abstract: A laser apparatus of the present invention has a first laser oscillator that emits a first laser beam; a passive fiber that is a double-clad fiber that transmits the first laser beam through a core; and a second laser oscillator that emits a second laser beam that is coupled into inner cladding of the passive fiber. Additionally, a laser materials processing apparatus of the present invention is provided with the laser apparatus; and an irradiation optical system having a collimating lens and a condenser lens.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2010
    Publication date: August 22, 2013
    Applicant: NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hirofumi Imai, Koji Hirano
  • Patent number: 8509269
    Abstract: Cylindrical optical components of quartz glass are known, which have an inner zone made of an inner zone glass, which extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis and is surrounded by a jacket zone made of a jacket zone glass, the average wall thickness thereof varying at least over a part of its length in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the component. The aim of the invention is to provide a method that allows a simple and cost-effective production of such an optical component from quartz glass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Heraeus Quarzglas GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Peter Bauer, Karsten Braeuer, Marco Flach, Andreas Langner, Richard Schmidt, Clemens Schmitt, Gerhard Schoetz, Matthias Stecher
  • Patent number: 8509588
    Abstract: An amplifying optical fiber includes a core containing oxides of elements selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, phosphorus, bismuth, aluminum, gallium with a concentration of bismuth oxide of 10-4-5 mol %, a total concentration of silicon and germanium oxides of 70-99.8999 mol %, a total concentration of aluminum and gallium oxides of 0.1-20 mol % wherein both aluminum and gallium oxide are present and a ratio of aluminum oxide to gallium oxide is at least two, and a concentration of phosphorus oxide from 0 to 10 mol %, and provides a maximum optical gain at least 10 times greater than the nonresonant loss factor in the optical fiber. An outside oxide glass cladding comprises fused silica. The core has an absorption band in the 1000 nm region, pumping to which region provides an increased efficiency of power conversion of pump light into luminescence light in the 1000-1700 nm range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Fiber Optics Research Center of The Russian Academy of Sciences
    Inventors: Evgeny Mikhailovich Dianov, Vladislav Vladimirovich Dvoirin, Valery Mikhailovich Mashinsky, Alexei Nikolaevich Guryanov, Andrei Alexandrovich Umnikov
  • Patent number: 8509271
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing an optical fiber grating that includes first and second gratings that configure an optical resonator, the method including: forming the first grating by radiating ultraviolet light to an optical fiber so that a irradiation intensity Z satisfies the following Equation 1: Z?(??S/x+0.04556Y2+1.2225Y)/(0.05625Y2+1.6125Y) . . . Equation 1, where, Z represents an irradiation intensity (mJ/mm2) of the ultraviolet light, ??S represents the maximum shift amount of a reflection center wavelength of the first grating that is allowed as long as reflection wavelengths of the first grating and second grating overlap each other, x represents a shift amount of the reflection center wavelength per temperature change of 1° C. (nm/° C.) in the first grating, and Y represents an intensity (W) of the wave-guided light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Terada, Koji Omichi, Rintaro Morohashi
  • Patent number: 8509580
    Abstract: An optical amplifier includes: a first optical fiber, through which seed light and excitation light propagate; an optical coupler that inputs the excitation light into the first optical fiber; a first lens to which the seed light and the excitation light output from the first optical fiber are input and which increases diameters of the seed light and the excitation light; a glass rod doped with rare earth elements to be excited by the excitation light, to which the seed light and the excitation light output from the first lens are input and which amplifies and outputs the seed light as output light; a second lens to which at least the output light output from the glass rod is input and which decreases a diameter of the output light; and a second optical fiber to which the output light output from the second lens is input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshikiyo Noguchi, Michihiro Nakai
  • Patent number: 8509270
    Abstract: The invention describes classes of robust fiber laser systems usable as pulse sources for Nd: or Yb: based regenerative amplifiers intended for industrial settings. The invention modifies adapts and incorporates several recent advances in FCPA systems to use as the input source for this new class of regenerative amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: IMRA America, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald J. Harter, Gyu C. Cho, Zhenlin Liu, Martin E. Fermann, Xinhu Gu, Salvatore F. Nati, Lawrence Shah, Ingmar Hartl, Mark Bendett
  • Patent number: 8503495
    Abstract: The laser device includes: a seed light source that outputs seed light; a pumping light source an amplification optical fiber as the amplifier that amplifies the seed light with an element pumped by the pumping light source; a monitor unit that is provided between the seed light source and the amplification optical fiber, and monitors the intensity of the light output from the amplification optical fiber; and a light source controller that controls the seed light source. In this laser device, when the light input to the monitor unit has an intensity equal to or higher than a predetermined intensity while the seed light is not input to the amplification optical fiber, the light source controller forces to output the seed light from the seed light source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventor: Michihiro Nakai
  • Publication number: 20130195127
    Abstract: The laser light emitting device includes a glass rod having an input end and an output end. The glass rod has a core provided along the central axis thereof and a cladding covering the core. The refractive index of the core on the side of the input end is higher than the refractive index of the cladding. A value given through subtraction of the refractive index of the cladding from the refractive index of the core on the side of the output end is smaller than a value given through subtraction of the refractive index of the cladding from the refractive index of the core on the side of the input end.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Publication date: August 1, 2013
    Applicant: FUJIKURA LTD.
    Inventor: Shinichi Sakamoto
  • Publication number: 20130195126
    Abstract: A high power fiber laser system emitting a substantially diffraction limited beam with a Gaussian intensity profile includes a single mode (“SM”) neodymium fiber pump source outputting a SM pump light; a seed laser operative to emit a SM signal light at a wavelength greater than that of the pump light; a SM DWM receiving and multiplexing the SM pump and signal lights. The disclosed system further includes a booster fiber amplifier which is configured with a frustoconically-shaped ytterbium (“Yb”) doped core receiving the pump and signal lights and configured with a small diameter input end which supports only a SM and a large diameter output end which is capable of supporting the SM and high order modes (:HOM”). The booster further has a cladding surrounding and coextending with the core, the core being configured for having intensity profiles of respective SMs of pump and signal lights overlap one another so that an overlap integral substantially equals to one (1) along an entire length of the core.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2013
    Publication date: August 1, 2013
    Applicant: IPG Photonics Corporation
    Inventors: Valentin Gapontsev, Igor Samartsev
  • Patent number: 8498044
    Abstract: There are provided an amplification optical fiber, and an optical fiber amplifier and a resonator using the same capable of outputting light of high beam quality even when a higher-order mode that is axially symmetric is excited in addition to LP01 mode. An amplification optical fiber 50 includes: a core 51; a clad 52 coating the core 51; and an outer clad 53 coating the clad 52, wherein the core 51 has a larger refractive index than the clad 52, the core 51 allows light having a predetermined wavelength to propagate in at least LP01 mode and LP02 mode, and in the core 51, active element that stimulates to emit light of the predetermined wavelength is doped at a higher concentration at a position where an intensity of the LP02 mode becomes zero than center of the core 51.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignee: Fujikura Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Kashiwagi, Kensuke Shima
  • Patent number: 8494013
    Abstract: Photodarkening resistant optical fiber lasing media and fiber lasers incorporating the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, an optical fiber lasing medium includes a core portion formed from silica-based glass comprising a rare-earth dopant and deuterium, the core portion having an index of refraction nc, a numerical aperture NAc. A concentration of defect color centers in the core portion is less than 1×1016/cm3. Deuterium is combined with the defect color centers to form reacted defect color centers that do not absorb ultraviolet and visible wavelengths of light. A first cladding portion is formed from silica-based glass, the first cladding portion surrounding and directly contacting the core portion and having an index of refraction n1, wherein the index of refraction n1 of the first cladding portion is less than the index of refraction nc of the core portion. Methods of forming the photodarkening resistant optical fiber lasing media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: Stuart Gray, Shenping Li, Ji Wang
  • Patent number: 8494014
    Abstract: A laser apparatus for producing mode locked pulses includes a closed optical system adapted to connect to a fiber grain medium to form a laser cavity. The fiber gain medium is adapted to receive pulses characterized by a first state and to output pulses characterized by a second state. The closed optical system is adapted to receive the pulses in the second state and output pulses in a state similar to the first state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Auckland Uniservices Limited
    Inventors: Claude Aguergaray, Vladimir Kruglov, Neil Broderick, John Harvey, David Mechin
  • Publication number: 20130182727
    Abstract: A laser marking apparatus is provided with a laser emission unit that emits laser beam and a laser radiation unit that is detachably connected to the laser emission unit. The laser radiation unit radiates the laser beam emitted from the laser emission unit toward an object to be processed. A projection, which projects rearward, is formed on a part of the laser radiation unit that is connected with the laser emission unit. A recess is provided in a part of the laser emission unit that is connected with the laser radiation unit. The projection can fit into the recess. The recess is opened forward, backward, to lateral sides, and downward.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2011
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Inventors: Akihisa Matsumoto, Naoya Yamazaki, Akihiro Tahara
  • Publication number: 20130182724
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein include a system for producing ultrashort tunable pulses based on ultra broadband OPA or OPG in nonlinear materials. The system parameters such as the nonlinear material, pump wavelengths, quasi-phase matching periods, and temperatures can be selected to utilize the intrinsic dispersion relations for such material to produce bandwidth limited or nearly bandwidth limited pulse compression. Compact high average power sources of short optical pulses tunable in the wavelength range of 1800 to 2100 nm and after frequency doubling in the wavelength range of 900 to 1050 nm can be used as a pump for the ultra broadband OPA or OPG. In certain embodiments, these short pump pulses are obtained from an Er fiber oscillator at about 1550 nm, amplified in Er fiber, Raman-shifted to 1800 to 2100 nm, stretched in a fiber stretcher, and amplified in Tm-doped fiber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Applicant: IMRA AMERICA, INC.
    Inventor: IMRA AMERICA, INC.
  • Publication number: 20130182726
    Abstract: Provided is a device of generating various types of pulses by controlling a distance between saturable absorber connectors, and more particularly, a device of generating various types of pulses by controlling a distance between saturable absorber connectors, capable of actively controlling a distance between saturable absorbers to completely overcome a disadvantage that an opened space is present in a cavity or a disadvantage that a fiber component should be changed and implementing a simple design of the entire fiber laser cavity since only a saturable absorber part, which is a portion of a fiber laser cavity, should be designed, as a carbon nanotube saturable absorber part in a passively mode-locked fiber laser generating apparatus using the saturable absorber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 11, 2013
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Applicant: KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventor: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
  • Publication number: 20130182725
    Abstract: A laser system capable of producing a stable and accurate high-power output beam from one or more input beams of corresponding laser sources comprises one or more optical elements configured to receive the input beams wherein at least one of said one or more optical elements is made of high purity fused silica.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2012
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Inventors: Scott R. Karlsen, Robert J. Martinsen
  • Patent number: 8488235
    Abstract: An optical system including a plurality of fibers each providing a fiber beam and at least one tapered fiber bundle. The tapered fiber bundle includes a plurality of input end fibers, a plurality of output end fibers and a center bundle portion, where each input end fiber is coupled to a separate one of the fibers, and where the bundle portion combines all of the fiber beams received by the input end fibers into a single combined beam and each output end fiber is capable of receiving the combined beam separately from the other output end fibers. The optical system also includes a plurality of optical output channels where each optical output channel is coupled to a separate one of the output end fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation
    Inventor: Joshua Elliott Rothenberg
  • Publication number: 20130177031
    Abstract: A method of tuning the time duration of laser output pulses, the method including spectrally dispersing optical pulses and further comprising providing an optical pulse having a time duration and a spectral bandwidth; spectrally dispersing (243, 245) the optical pulse so as to provide a selected change in the time duration of the pulse responsive to the spectral band-width of the pulse; outputting (226) an optical output pulse having a first time duration that is responsive to the selected change in time duration; providing another optical pulse; changing the amount of spectral bandwidth of the another optical pulse (272) to be different than that of the optical pulse or changing the amount of spectral dispersion so that spectrally dispersing the another optical pulse provides a change in time duration that is different than the selected change; and outputting (226) another optical output pulse having a second time duration that is responsive to the different change in time duration, the second time duration
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2011
    Publication date: July 11, 2013
    Inventors: Paulo Almeida, John Redvers Clowes, Pascal Dupriez, Anatoly Borisovich Grudinin