Waveguide device with mode control and pump light confinement and method of using same
AssigneeGSI Lumonics Corporation
InventorDavid M. Filgas
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A waveguide device in the form of either a solid-state laser or amplifier is divided into separate pumping and output mode control sections along at least one direction of the device by leaving a portion of a core of the device unclad or by depositing appropriate coatings on different sections of the core or by contacting/bonding materials with different refractive indices to different sections of the core or by a combination of these approaches. The core has a pump input surface for receiving pumping radiation at a pumping wavelength and one or more output surfaces for emitting a laser beam at an output wavelength. When used as an amplifier, the core also has a laser input surface which may be the same as one of the output surfaces.
Claims30
A waveguide device having a plurality of sections arranged in series which acts as a planar waveguide in at least one direction of the device, the device comprising:
- a non-circular core including a pumping section and having a pump input surface for receiving pumping radiation at a pumping wavelength and at least one output surface for emitting a laser beam at an output wavelength;
- and
- means for providing pump-light confinement and means for providing output mode control in different ones of the sections of the device along the direction of beam propagation.
A method for generating a laser beam having a desired output mode, the method comprising:
- providing a non-circular core having a pump input surface and at least one output surface, the core serving as a planar waveguide in at least one direction;
- pumping the core at the pump input surface with pumping radiation at a pumping wavelength so that an output laser beam is emitted at the at least one output surface at an output wavelength;
- and
- separating the functions of pump-light confinement and output mode control using different sections arranged in series along the length of the waveguide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.