Laser apparatus
AssigneeKimmon Koha Co., Ltd.
InventorsYasushi Fujimoto, Paul Binun, Shinji Motokoshi, Masamori Nakahara, Takeshi Hamada
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Abstract
A laser apparatus includes: a laser oscillator that includes a mirror and emits a laser beam; and an external resonator that includes a nonlinear optical crystal that functions as a phase conjugate mirror. The phase conjugate mirror reflects the laser beam and produces a phase conjugate wave that reaches the mirror of the laser oscillator, and the mirror of the laser oscillator and the phase conjugate mirror cause laser oscillation such that a wavelength and a phase of the laser beam oscillated by the laser oscillation are automatically fixed.
Claims11
A laser apparatus comprising:
- a laser oscillator that comprises a mirror and a laser medium, and emits a laser beam;
- and
- an external resonator that comprises a nonlinear optical crystal that functions as a phase conjugate mirror, wherein
- the phase conjugate mirror reflects the laser beam and produces a phase conjugate wave that reaches the mirror of the laser oscillator through the laser medium, and
- the mirror of the laser oscillator and the phase conjugate mirror cause laser oscillation through the laser medium such that a wavelength and a phase of the laser beam oscillated by the laser oscillation are automatically fixed.
A laser apparatus comprising:
- a laser oscillator that comprises a mirror and a laser medium, and emits a laser beam;
- and
- an external resonator that increases a light intensity of the laser beam and comprises a nonlinear optical crystal, wherein
- the nonlinear optical crystal functions as a phase conjugate mirror on which the laser beam is reflected to travel along a reverse optical path to reach the mirror of the laser oscillator through the laser medium,
- the mirror of the laser oscillator and the phase conjugate mirror cause laser oscillation through the laser medium such that a wavelength and a phase of the laser beam oscillated by the laser oscillation are automatically fixed, and
- the nonlinear optical crystal produces a higher harmonic wave of the laser beam oscillated by the laser oscillation and outputs the higher harmonic wave from the external resonator.
A laser oscillating method using a laser oscillator that comprises a mirror and a laser medium, and an external resonator that comprises a nonlinear optical crystal, the method comprising:
- emitting from the laser oscillator a laser beam that reaches the external resonator that increases a light intensity of the laser beam, wherein
- the nonlinear optical crystal functions as a phase conjugate mirror on which the laser beam is reflected to travel along a reverse optical path to reach the mirror of the laser oscillator through the laser medium, and
- once the mirror of the laser oscillator and the phase conjugate mirror cause laser oscillation through the laser medium, outputting from the external resonator a higher harmonic wave of the laser beam oscillated by the laser oscillation, wherein the higher harmonic wave is generated by the nonlinear optical crystal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.