Laser beam energy stabilizing apparatus, pulse temporal waveform control apparatus, laser beam energy stabilizing method, and pulse temporal waveform control method

A laser beam energy stabilizing apparatus, comprising:

• a) an incident beam convertor for converting an incident laser beam into a linearly-polarized beam;
• b) a beam optical system for dividing the incident laser beam which has been converted into a linearly-polarized beam into a principal beam and an auxiliary beam and then for crossing the principal beam and the auxiliary beam;
• c) a polarization direction change element for changing a polarization direction of either one or both of the principal beam and the auxiliary beam;
• d) an optical gate element provided at an intersection of the principal beam and the auxiliary beam and made of a material that exhibits an optical Kerr effect;
• and
• e) a polarization filter for taking out from the principal beam which has passed through the optical gate element only a beam polarized in a predetermined direction.

A laser beam energy stabilizing apparatus, comprising:

• a) a beam optical system for dividing an incident laser beam into a principal beam and an auxiliary beam and then for crossing the principal beam and the auxiliary beam;
• b) a linear polarizer for converting the principal beam and the auxiliary beam into beams linearly polarized in a same direction;
• c) a polarization direction change element for changing a polarization direction of either one or both of the principal beam and the auxiliary beam;
• d) an optical gate element provided at an intersection of the principal beam and the auxiliary beam and made of a material that exhibits an optical Kerr effect;
• and
• e) a polarization filter for taking out from the principal beam which has passed through the optical gate element only a beam polarized in a predetermined direction.

A laser beam energy stabilizing apparatus, comprising:

• a) a beam optical system for dividing an incident laser beam into a principal beam and an auxiliary beam and then for crossing the principal beam and the auxiliary beam;
• b) a polarization direction complex change element for converting both the principal beam and the auxiliary beam into a linearly-polarized beam so that their polarization directions differ by a predetermined angle;
• c) an optical gate element provided at an intersection of the principal beam and the auxiliary beam and made of a material that exhibits an optical Kerr effect;
• and
• d) a polarization filter for taking out from the principal beam which has passed through the optical gate element only a beam polarized in a predetermined direction.

A laser beam energy stabilizing method, comprising the steps of:

• a) dividing a linearly-polarized incident laser beam into a principal beam and an auxiliary beam;
• b) changing a polarization direction of either one or both of the principal beam and the auxiliary beam;
• c) crossing the principal beam and the auxiliary beam in an optical gate element made of a material that exhibits an optical Kerr effect;
• and
• d) taking out from the principal beam which has passed through the optical gate element only a beam polarized in a predetermined direction.

A laser beam energy stabilizing method, comprising the steps of:

• a) converting an incident laser beam into a linearly-polarized beam;
• b) dividing the incident laser beam which has been converted into a linearly-polarized beam into a principal beam and an auxiliary beam;
• c) changing a polarization direction of either one or both of the principal beam and the auxiliary beam;
• d) crossing the principal beam and the auxiliary beam in an optical gate element made of a material that exhibits an optical Kerr effect;
• and
• e) taking out from the principal beam which has passed through the optical gate element only a beam polarized in a predetermined direction.

A laser beam energy stabilizing method, comprising the steps of:

• a) converting an incident laser beam into a principal beam and an auxiliary beam;
• b) converting the principal beam and the auxiliary beam into a beam linearly-polarized in a same direction;
• c) changing a polarization direction of either one or both of the principal beam and the auxiliary beam;
• d) crossing the principal beam and the auxiliary beam in an optical gate element made of a material that exhibits an optical Kerr effect;
• and
• e) taking out from the principal beam which has passed through the optical gate element only a beam polarized in a predetermined direction.

A laser beam energy stabilizing method, comprising the steps of:

• a) dividing an incident laser beam into a principal beam and an auxiliary beam;
• b) converting both the principal beam and the auxiliary beam into a linearly-polarized beam so that their polarization directions differ by a predetermined angle;
• c) crossing the principal beam and the auxiliary beam in an optical gate element made of a material that exhibits an optical Kerr effect;
• d) taking out from the principal beam which has passed through the optical gate element only a beam polarized in a predetermined direction.