Methods of laser pulse development and maintenance in a compact laser resonator
AssigneeArete Associates
InventorMicah Boyd
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Described herein are methods for developing and maintaining pulses that are produced from compact resonant cavities using one or more Q-switches and maintaining the output parameters of these pulses created during repetitive pulsed operation. The deterministic control of the evolution of a Q-switched laser pulse is complicated due to dynamic laser cavity feedback effects and unpredictable environmental inputs. Laser pulse shape control in a compact laser cavity (e.g., length/speed of light <˜1 ns) is especially difficult because closed loop control becomes impossible due to causality. Because various issues cause laser output of these compact resonator cavities to drift over time, described herein are further methods for automatically maintaining those output parameters.
Claims21
A Q-switched laser system, comprising:
- a laser cavity comprising a Q-switch module, a laser gain medium, an output coupler, and a reflector;
- at least two high voltage pulse generators electrically coupled to the Q-switch module;
- a plurality of adjustable high voltage supplies electrically coupled to the at least two high voltage pulse generators;
- a plurality of pump diodes optically coupled to the laser gain medium and operable to pump the laser gain medium with optical energy;
- and
- a feedback module optically coupled to the output coupler and operable to automatically adjust the high voltage supplies based on a laser pulse emitted from the laser cavity through the output coupler to maintain at least one of a pre-determined shape and intensity of a laser pulse output from the laser cavity.
A method of operating a Q-switched laser system that comprises:
- a laser cavity comprising a Q-switch module, a laser gain medium, an output coupler, and a reflector;
- at least two high voltage pulse generators electrically coupled to the Q-switch module;
- a plurality of adjustable high voltage supplies electrically coupled to the at least two high voltage pulse generators;
- a plurality of pump diodes optically coupled to the laser gain medium;
- and
- a feedback module optically coupled to the output coupler,
- the method comprising:
- pumping the laser gain medium with optical energy from the plurality of pump diodes;
- detecting, via the feedback module, a laser pulse emitted from the laser cavity through the output coupler to determine a shape and intensity of the laser pulse;
- automatically adjusting the high voltage supplies based on the determined shape and intensity of the laser pulse to maintain at least one of a pre-determined shape and intensity of a laser pulse output from the laser cavity.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, direct the processor to control operation of a Q-switched laser system that comprises:
- a laser cavity comprising a Q-switch module, a laser gain medium, an output coupler, and a reflector;
- at least two high voltage pulse generators electrically coupled to the Q-switch module;
- a plurality of adjustable high voltage supplies electrically coupled to the at least two high voltage pulse generators;
- a plurality of pump diodes optically coupled to the laser gain medium;
- and
- a feedback module optically coupled to the output coupler,
- the computer readable medium comprising instructions that direct the processor to:
- direct the plurality of pump diodes to pump the laser gain medium with optical energy;
- direct the feedback module to detect a laser pulse emitted from the laser cavity through the output coupler;
- determine a shape and intensity of the laser pulse;
- and
- automatically adjust the high voltage supplies based on the determined shape and intensity of the laser pulse to maintain at least one of a pre-determined shape and intensity of a laser pulse output from the laser cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.