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US 5,848,080 AGranted
Short pulsewidth high pulse repetition frequency laser
OwnerJonathan S. Dahminventor
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Abstract
A laser with high average power, high repetition rate, ultra-short pulsewidth, and excellent beam quality is described. This is achieved by the use of high power diodes used to uniformly pump an improved Nd:YAlO.sub.3 crystal, resulting in a beam with excellent quality. In addition, a beta-barium borate (BBO) crystal, used in conjunction with drift step recovery diodes (DSRDs), forms a high speed optical switch which can be used to cavity dump the laser.
Claims64
A laser, comprising:
- a resonator cavity including an optical path;
- a gain medium positioned in the resonator cavity along the optical path;
- an electro-optic device positioned in the resonator along the optical path;
- a polarizer positioned in the resonator cavity along the optical path;
- a pump source generating a pump beam incident on the gain medium to produce an intracavity beam that is incident on a surface of the polarizer to produce a polarized output beam, wherein the polarized output beam has an average power of at least 40 W;
- and
- a high voltage pulser coupled to the electro-optic device and generating a voltage pulse to the electro-optic device, wherein the polarized output beam has a pulsewidth which does not exceed 1.5 nanoseconds with a pulse repetition frequency of at least 100 kHz.
4 more elements
A laser system, comprising:
- a resonator cavity including an optical path;
- a gain medium positioned in the resonator cavity along the optical path;
- an electro-optic device positioned in the resonator along the optical path;
- a polarizer positioned in the resonator cavity along the optical path;
- a pump source generating a pump beam incident on the gain medium to produce an intracavity beam that is incident on a surface of the polarizer to produce a polarized output beam;
- an amplifier coupled to the resonator cavity and amplifying the polarized output beam to provide an amplified polarized output beam of 40 W or greater;
- and
- a high voltage pulser coupled to the electro-optic device and generating a voltage pulse to the electro-optic device, wherein the amplified polarized output beam has a pulsewidth which does not exceed 1.5 nanoseconds with a pulse repetition frequency of at least 100 kHz.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.