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US 2009/0022201 A1Published application
Alkali-Vapor Laser with Transverse Pumping
AssigneeGeneral Atomics
InventorsWilliam F. Krupke, Jason Stuart Zweiback, Alexander A. Betin
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Abstract
Alkali-vapor laser and related methods of lasing are described herein. In some embodiments, a diode-pumped gas-vapor laser is provided that can be scaled to high power. For example, in one embodiment, a triply-transverse configuration of a diode-pumped-alkali-laser (DPAL) is disclosed in which alkali-buffer gain medium is flowed through an laser chamber (for example, configured as an optical resonator or amplifier) whose optical axis is nominally transverse to the flow direction, and whose pump array radiation is propagated into the alkali-buffer gain medium in a direction nominally transverse to both the direction of gain medium flow and the direction of the optical axis.
Claims41
An alkali vapor laser, comprising:
- a laser chamber having a volume formed therein;
- a gain medium flowing through said volume in a direction substantially transverse to an optical axis of said volume, said gain medium comprising a mixture of at least one buffer gas and said alkali atomic vapor, said alkali atomic vapor having a D1 transition at wavelength λ1 and a D2 transition at wavelength λ2, wherein said at least one buffer gas has the dual purpose of collisionally broadening said D2 transition and collisionally transferring excitation energy from the upper level of said D2 transition to the upper level of said D1 transition at a rate larger than the radiative decay rate of either of these levels;
- and
- a pump laser, emitting at a wavelength substantially matching the wavelength λ2 of said D2 transition, with an emission spectral width of at least 0.01 nm (FWHM) for optically pumping said gain medium at the wavelength λ2 of said D2 transition of said alkali atomic vapor, including optical pumping in the Lorentzian spectral wings of said D2 transition, emitting laser emission output at wavelength XI;
- said pump laser propagating its pump radiation into said gain medium in a direction substantially transverse to the optical axis of said volume and also substantially transverse to the flow direction of said gain medium.
2 more elements
A method of lasing comprising:
- flowing an alkali-buffer vapor-gas gain medium through a volume of a laser chamber transverse to an optical axis of the chamber;
- pumping the flowing gain medium transversely to a flow direction and transversely to the optical axis of the chamber, producing optical gain in the vapor-gas gain medium;
- and
- extracting laser output power in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the chamber, and in a direction transverse to the flow direction and the direction of optical pumping.
1 more element
A laser device comprising:
- a laser chamber having a volume formed therein;
- a gain medium within the volume and comprising a gas and vapor mixture;
- and
- a pump source oriented to side pump optical pump radiation along a pump direction into the volume;
- wherein responsive to the optical pump radiation, a laser emission from the gain medium passes through the volume along a laser axis.
2 more elements
A method of lasing comprising:
- pumping a gain medium within a volume of a laser chamber with optical pump radiation along a pump direction in a side-pumping configuration, the gain medium comprising a gas and vapor mixture;
- producing optical gain in the gain medium;
- and
- extracting laser output power in a direction parallel to an optical axis of the chamber.
1 more element
A laser device comprising:
- a laser chamber having a volume formed therein;
- a gain medium within the volume and comprising a gas and vapor mixture;
- and
- a pump source oriented to provide optical pump radiation along a pump direction into the volume;
- wherein responsive to the optical pump radiation, a laser emission from the gain medium passes through the volume along a laser axis;
- and
- wherein the laser emission has a power of at least 1 kW and up to 5 MW with a beam quality having an M2 value of less than 5.
4 more elements
A laser device comprising:
- a laser chamber having a volume formed therein;
- a gain medium within the volume and comprising a gas and vapor mixture;
- and
- a pump source oriented to provide optical pump radiation along a pump direction into the volume;
- wherein responsive to the optical pump radiation, a laser emission from the gain medium passes through the volume along a laser axis;
- and
- wherein the laser emission exits the laser chamber via a surface of the laser chamber, the laser emission having an output area at the surface of at least 0.1 cm2 and up to 500 cm2 and the laser emission having a beam quality having an M2 value of less than 5.
4 more elements
A laser device comprising:
- a laser chamber having a volume formed therein;
- a gain medium within the volume and comprising a gas and vapor mixture;
- and
- a pump source oriented to provide optical pump radiation along a pump direction into the volume;
- wherein responsive to the optical pump radiation, a laser emission from the gain medium passes through the volume along a laser axis;
- and
- wherein the pump source provides the optical pump radiation having a pump flux of less than 20 kW/cm2 and the laser emission has a beam quality having an M2 value of less than 5.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.