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US 9,316,846 B2Granted
Systems and methods to provide high brightness diode laser outputs
OwnerEdmund L. Wolakinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A high brightness, high power laser output is produced using a technique of splitting the outputs of multiple laser diode sources into two polarization states, wavelength combining the first polarization state from the multiple laser diodes, separately wavelength combining the second polarization state from the multiple laser diodes, and recombining the two polarized wavelength combined beams using a polarization combiner.
Claims23
A laser system, comprising:
- a plurality of unpolarized laser sources having outputs in different spectral bands;
- and
- a beam combining assembly, disposed to receive and combine the outputs of the unpolarized laser sources, the assembly including:
- a polarization beam splitter dividing the collimated outputs into first and second polarized sets of beams;
- a first wavelength combining module positioned to wavelength combine the first polarized set of beams onto a first common beam line;
- a second wavelength combining module positioned to wavelength combine the second polarized set of beams onto a second common beam line;
- and
- a polarization beam combiner disposed in the first and second common beam lines and configured to combine the first and second polarized sets of beams onto an output beam on a combined beam path.
5 more elements
A method to provide a combining a plurality of unpolarized laser beams in different spectral bands, comprising:
- providing a plurality of collimated unpolarized laser beams;
- dividing the collimated beams into first and second polarized sets of beams;
- using a first wavelength combining module to spatially combine the first polarized set of beams into a first combined polarized beam;
- using a second wavelength combining module to spatially combine the second polarized set of beams into a second combined polarized beam;
- and
- combining the first and second polarized beams onto a combined beam path.
3 more elements
An optical assembly, comprising:
- a polarization beam splitter configured to split a plurality of unpolarized laser beams, each beam having a different spectral band into a first set of beams having a first polarization state and a second set of beams having a second polarization state;
- a first wavelength combining module in functional communication with the polarization beam splitter and configured to combine the first set of beams having the first polarization state to form a first wavelength combined beam having the first polarization and combined spectral bands;
- a second wavelength combining module in functional communication with the polarization beam splitter and configured to combine the second set of beams having the second polarization state to form a second wavelength combined beam having the second polarization and combined spectral bands;
- and
- a polarization beam combiner in functional communication with each of the first and second wavelength combining modules and aligned to combine the first wavelength combined beam having the first polarization and the second wavelength combined beam having the second polarization into a single output beam.
2 more elements
An optical system providing a high brightness, high power laser diode output, comprising:
- a plurality of fiber coupled, line-narrowed laser diodes providing a plurality of unpolarized laser diode beams;
- a polarization beam splitter optically coupled to the unpolarized laser diode beams to split the plurality of unpolarized laser diode beams from the laser diode sources, each laser diode source having a different spectral band into a first set of beams having a first polarization state and a second set of beams having a second polarization state;
- a first polarization rotation module disposed between the polarization beam splitter and the first wavelength combining module to rotate the first set of beams, and
- a first wavelength combining module optically coupled to the polarization beam splitter to combine the first set of beams having the polarization rotated first polarization state to form a first wavelength combined beam having the polarization rotated first polarization state and combined spectra;
- a second wavelength combining module optically coupled to the polarization beam splitter to combine the second set of beams having the second polarization state to form a second wavelength combined beam having the second polarization state and combined spectra;
- and
- a second polarization rotation module disposed between the second wavelength combining module and the polarization beam combiner to rotate the second wavelength combined beam.
- a polarization beam combiner optically coupled to each of the first and second wavelength combining modules to combine the first wavelength combined beam having the polarization rotated first polarization state and the second wavelength combined beam having the polarization rotated second polarization state into a single output beam.
5 more elements
An optical system providing a high brightness, high power laser diode output, comprising:
- a plurality of fiber coupled, line-narrowed laser diodes providing a plurality of collimated unpolarized laser diode beams;
- a polarization beam splitter optically coupled to the collimated unpolarized laser diode beams to split the plurality of collimated unpolarized laser diode beams from the laser diode sources, each laser diode source having a different spectral band into a first set of beams having a first polarization state and a second set of beams having a second polarization state;
- a wavelength combining module optically coupled to the polarization beam splitter to combine each of the first and second set of beams having the first and second polarization state, respectively, to form first and second wavelength combined beams, respectively, having first and second polarization states, respectively, and combined spectra;
- a polarization beam combiner optically coupled to the wavelength combining module to combine the first wavelength combined beam having the first polarization state and the second wavelength combined beam having the second polarization state into a single output beam;
- a first polarization rotation module disposed between the polarization beam splitter and the wavelength combining module to rotate the first set of beams, and
- a second polarization rotation module disposed between the wavelength combining module and the polarization beam combiner to rotate the second wavelength combined beam.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.