Solid state laser apparatus

Abstract

A solid state laser excited by a semiconductor laser can generate a stable and highly efficient high power laser beam. The laser apparatus includes a solid state laser element containing an active medium, a semiconductor laser for optically exciting the solid state laser element, a power supply for supplying pulses of current having magnitudes that change with time during each pulse to the semiconductor laser, and an optical resonator for emission of a laser beam from the solid state laser element. When the semiconductor laser is driven with the pulses that change in magnitude during each pulse, it produces pulsed excitation light that excites the solid state laser element. A stable laser beam is produced because changes in thermally sensitive light-generating parameters of the semiconductor laser are compensated.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.