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US 5,499,134 AGranted
Optical pulse amplification using chirped Bragg gratings
AssigneeImra America, Inc.
InventorsAlmantas Galvanauskas, Martin E. Fermann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Chirped Bragg gratings are used both for stretching and compressing of ultrashort optical pulses in a chirped pulse amplification system, so that even femtosecond pulses can be stretched and recompressed back to their initial shape and duration. When used in chirped pulse amplification systems instead of bulk diffraction grating stretchers and compressors, Bragg gratings offer unprecedented compactness, robustness and system efficiency.
Claims18
An apparatus for amplifying an optical pulse, comprising:
- generating means for generating an optical pulse;
- spreading means, optically connected to said generating means, for reducing the peak amplitude of said optical pulse and increasing the duration of said optical pulse;
- amplifying means, optically connected to said spreading means, for increasing the amplitude of said optical pulse after said optical pulse is output from said spreading means;
- and
- recompressing means, optically connected to the output of said amplifying means, for decreasing the duration of said optical pulse after said optical pulse is output from said amplifying means;
- wherein at least one of said spreading and recompressing means comprises a chirped Bragg grating.
3 more elements
A method of amplifying optical pulses comprising the steps of:
- providing an optical pulse;
- spreading the duration of said optical pulse over a period of time longer than the original duration of said optical pulse, while reducing the peak amplitude of said optical pulse to create a spread pulse;
- amplifying said spread pulse to create an amplified spread pulse;
- and
- recompressing said amplified spread pulse to the original shape of said optical pulse;
- wherein at least one of said spreading and recompressing steps is accomplished using a chirped Bragg grating.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.