# US 10,374,376 B2 · Divided pulse nonlinear optical sources > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,374,376 B2 - Document ID: US10374376B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/980,839 - Filed: 2018-05-16 - Published: 2018-11-22 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-17 - Assignees: The Penn State Research Foundation; Atoptix, LLC - Applicants: The Penn State Research Foundation - Inventors: Zhiwen Liu; Victor Bucklew; Perry Edwards; Chenji Zhang - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10374376B2 ## CPC - H01S 3/0071: {Beam steering, e.g. whereby a mirror outside the cavity is present to change the beam direction} - G01J 3/0205: {Optical elements not provided otherwise, e.g. optical manifolds, diffusers, windows} - G01J 3/0218: {using optical fibers} - G01J 3/0224: {using polarising or depolarising elements} - G01J 3/0237: {Adjustable, e.g. focussing} - G01J 3/0245: {using an optical amplifier of light, e.g. doped fiber} - G01J 3/10: Arrangements of light sources specially adapted for spectrometry or colorimetry - G01J 3/42: Absorption spectrometry; Double beam spectrometry; Flicker spectrometry; Reflection spectrometry (beam switching arrangements G01J3/08) - G01J 3/44: Raman spectrometry; Scattering spectrometry {; Fluorescence spectrometry} - G02B 27/10: Beam splitting or combining systems (polarising systems G02B27/28; mixing and splitting light signals using optical waveguides G02B6/28; {beam shaping, e.g. changing the cross-sectional area, by dividing or superposing multiple light beams G02B27/0905}) - G02F 1/39: for parametric generation or amplification of light, infrared or ultraviolet waves - H01S 3/0057: {Temporal shaping, e.g. pulse compression, frequency chirping (soliton generation and propagation G02F1/3513, H01S3/063 and H01S3/108)} - H01S 3/0092: {Nonlinear frequency conversion, e.g. second harmonic generation [SHG] or sum- or difference-frequency generation outside the laser cavity (nonlinear frequency conversion per se G02F1/35)} - H04J 14/02: Wavelength-division multiplex systems - G01J 2003/1282: {Spectrum tailoring} - H01S 3/005: {Optical devices external to the laser cavity, specially adapted for lasers, e.g. for homogenisation of the beam or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping (shaping laser beam for working metal or other materials B23K26/06; optical elements, systems or apparatus in general G02B)} - H01S 2301/08: Generation of pulses with special temporal shape or frequency spectrum - H04B 10/524: Pulse modulation - H01S: DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL - G01J: MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY (light sources F21, H01J, H01K, H05B; investigating properties of materials by optical means G01N) - G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS - G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS - H04J: MULTIPLEX COMMUNICATION (transmission in general H04B; peculiar to transmission of digital information H04L5/00; systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal H04N7/08; in exchanges H04Q11/00; stereophonic systems H04S) - H04B: TRANSMISSION ## Abstract A divided pulse nonlinear optical source may be generated by combining nonlinear wave generation techniques with pulse division that can divide a parent pulse into N divided pulses, each divided pulse separate temporally. The N divided pulses can be passed into a nonlinear optical medium to generate an output. The output can include at least one output pulse for each divided pulse. The center wavelengths of each output pulse can be tuned so that each may have a center wavelength that is the same as, or differs from, each other output pulse. In some embodiments, the output pulses may be combined to generate the output. The output can be power scalable and wavelength tunable. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An optical system, comprising: at least one division stage configured to receive at least one parent pulse and divide the at least one parent pulse into at least two divided pulses; and at least one nonlinear optical medium configured to receive the at least two divided pulses and generate an output pulse train comprising at least two output pulses; wherein the at least one nonlinear optical medium is configured to provide nonlinear parametric gain and is also configured to support and sustain soliton formation for each divided pulse to generate a soliton self-frequency shifted output pulse. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The optical system recited in claim 1, wherein at least one divided pulse has a different power from at least one other divided pulse to produce output pulses of at least two different wavelengths. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The optical system recited in claim 1, wherein a peak power of each of the at least two divided pulses is adjusted to produce the at least two output pulses, each having an identical wavelength. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The optical system recited in claim 3, wherein the at least two output pulses are combined. ### Claim 5 An optical system, comprising: at least one division stage configured to receive at least one parent pulse and divide the at least one parent pulse into at least two divided pulses; and at least one nonlinear optical medium configured to receive the at least two divided pulses and generate an output pulse train comprising at least two output pulses; wherein the at least one nonlinear optical medium is configured to provide nonlinear parametric gain; and wherein the at least one nonlinear optical medium behaves as a parametric gain medium for each divided pulse to generate a signal pulse for each divided pulse, an idler pulse for each divided pulse, and a residual pump pulse for each divided pulse. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The optical system recited in claim 5, wherein the signal pulses are combined, and/or the idler pulses are combined, and/or the residual pump pulses are recombined. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The optical system recited in claim 6, further comprising a feedback loop configured to cause an amount of at least one of the signal pulse and the idler pulse to be resynchronized with a subsequent parent pulse entering the at least one nonlinear optical medium. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The optical system recited in claim 7, further comprising a filter and a wavelength division multiplexer, wherein the feedback loop comprises a single mode fiber connected between the filter and the wavelength division multiplexer. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The optical system recited in claim 5, wherein the at least one nonlinear optical medium is one of an optical fiber and a nonlinear solid state medium. ### Claim 10 An optical system, comprising: at least one division stage configured to receive at least one parent pulse and divide the at least one parent pulse into at least two divided pulses; at least one nonlinear optical medium configured to receive the at least two divided pulses and generate an output pulse train comprising at least two output pulses; at least one combination stage configured to receive the output pulse train from the at least one nonlinear optical medium and cause the at least two output pulses of the output pulse train to combine into a combined output pulse; and an information feedback loop to indicate whether temporal overlapping between the output pulses is occurring when generating the combined output pulse so as to introduce active stabilization. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The optical system recited in claim 10, wherein the at least one nonlinear optical medium is configured to provide nonlinear parametric gain. ### Claim 12 An optical system, comprising: at least one division stage configured to receive at least one parent pulse and divide the at least one parent pulse into at least two divided pulses; at least one nonlinear optical medium configured to receive the at least two divided pulses and generate an output pulse train comprising at least two output pulses; a spectroscopy/imaging instrument, wherein the output pulse train is used to provide a multi-color excitation source for the spectroscopy/imaging instrument. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The optical system recited in claim 12, further comprising a plurality of division stages. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The optical system recited in claim 12, wherein the at least one division stage is configured to cause each divided pulse to be temporally shifted relative to each other. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) The optical system recited in claim 12, wherein the at least one division stage is configured to cause a polarization state of each divided pulse to be orthogonal to another divided pulse. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) Optical system recited in claim 12, further comprising at least one wave plate and/or at least one polarizing beam splitter configured to adjust the polarization and/or power of any one divided pulse. ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) The optical system recited in claim 12, wherein the at least one nonlinear optical medium is configured to provide nonlinear parametric gain. ### Claim 18 (depends on 12) The optical system recited in claim 12, further comprising at least one combination stage configured to receive the output pulse train from the at least one nonlinear optical medium and cause the at least two output pulses of the output pulse train to combine into a combined output pulse. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The optical system recited in claim 18, wherein the at least one combination stage is configured to compensate for temporal delay induced by birefringence. ### Claim 20 (depends on 12) The optical system recited in claim 12, wherein the system is configured to direct the output pulse train from the at least one nonlinear optical medium to the at least one division stage so that the output pulse train propagates in a reverse direction through the at least one division stage to cause the at least two output pulses of the output pulse train to combine into a combined output pulse.