Outcoupler with Bragg grating and system and method using same
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsAlexander A. Betin, Oleg M. Efimov
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An outcoupler having a wavelength selective, angle sensitive element or Bragg grating and an arrangement for maintaining the element in a predetermined orientation relative to an incident beam of electromagnetic energy. The Bragg grating may be reflective or transmissive. The inventive outcoupler may be used to implement a phase conjugate master oscillator power amplifier with an oscillator; a resonator in operational alignment with the oscillator; and an outcoupler in alignment with the oscillator. In the best mode, second and third Bragg gratings are included within the oscillator and the resonator, respectively.
Claims14
A laser comprising:
- an oscillator adapted to output a beam at a first wavelength λ1;
- a power amplifier in operational alignment with said oscillator;
- a loop phase conjugate mirror adapted to reflect a beam output by said amplifier with a spectrally shifted second wavelength λ2;
- and
- an outcoupler in alignment with said mirror, wherein the outcoupler is a Bragg grating positioned oblique to the master oscillator and power amplifier such that the outcoupler provides near 100% reflectivity at λ1 and substantially full transmission at λ2.
A laser system comprising:
- a master oscillator adapted to output a beam at a first wavelength λ1;
- a power amplifier in operational alignment with said oscillator;
- a loop phase conjugate mirror in operational alignment with said amplifier, wherein said mirror includes a first Bragg grating having partial reflectivity at said first wavelength λ1 and a high reflectivity at said second wavelength λ2 such that a beam at said second wavelength λ2 is generated and output by said mirror to said power amplifier;
- and
- an outcoupler in alignment with said master oscillator, said power amplifier, and said phase conjugate mirror, said outcoupler including a second Bragg grating having high reflectivity at said first wavelength λ1 and high transmissivity at said second wavelength λ2 and positioned to reflect said beam output by said oscillator toward said power amplifier and transmit a beam at said second wavelength λ2 output by said power amplifier.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.