WO2007129074A1 - Dispositif laser ou amplificateur à pompage latéral - Google Patents

Dispositif laser ou amplificateur à pompage latéral Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2007129074A1
WO2007129074A1 PCT/GB2007/001666 GB2007001666W WO2007129074A1 WO 2007129074 A1 WO2007129074 A1 WO 2007129074A1 GB 2007001666 W GB2007001666 W GB 2007001666W WO 2007129074 A1 WO2007129074 A1 WO 2007129074A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
pump
face
gain medium
laser
faces
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2007/001666
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English (en)
Inventor
Michael John Damzen
Original Assignee
Imperial Innovations Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Imperial Innovations Limited filed Critical Imperial Innovations Limited
Publication of WO2007129074A1 publication Critical patent/WO2007129074A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/02—Constructional details
    • H01S3/04—Arrangements for thermal management
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/02—Constructional details
    • H01S3/04—Arrangements for thermal management
    • H01S3/042—Arrangements for thermal management for solid state lasers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/05—Construction or shape of optical resonators; Accommodation of active medium therein; Shape of active medium
    • H01S3/06—Construction or shape of active medium
    • H01S3/0602—Crystal lasers or glass lasers
    • H01S3/0606—Crystal lasers or glass lasers with polygonal cross-section, e.g. slab, prism
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/05—Construction or shape of optical resonators; Accommodation of active medium therein; Shape of active medium
    • H01S3/08—Construction or shape of optical resonators or components thereof
    • H01S3/081—Construction or shape of optical resonators or components thereof comprising three or more reflectors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/05—Construction or shape of optical resonators; Accommodation of active medium therein; Shape of active medium
    • H01S3/08—Construction or shape of optical resonators or components thereof
    • H01S3/081—Construction or shape of optical resonators or components thereof comprising three or more reflectors
    • H01S3/083—Ring lasers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/09—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping
    • H01S3/091—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping using optical pumping
    • H01S3/094—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping using optical pumping by coherent light
    • H01S3/0941—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping using optical pumping by coherent light of a laser diode

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a side-pumped laser or amplifier device. More especially, the invention relates to cooling schemes for such devices.
  • Solid state lasers are an important class of laser source that exhibit high power emission over a broad range of wavelengths.
  • a solid state laser comprises a gain medium that provides the laser amplification, a resonator for providing optical feedback and a pump source.
  • the gain medium comprises a host material, such as a crystal or glass, that is doped with an active ion.
  • the active ion absorbs light at a pump wavelength and emits light at a laser wavelength.
  • the laser resonator is typically formed with dielectric or metallic mirrors.
  • the pump source provides the light at the pump wavelength, which must then be launched into the gain medium where it is absorbed by the active ions.
  • Diode lasers benefit from high-power, high directionality, high efficiency and wavelength tuneability, and for this reason are often used as pump source for solid state gain media.
  • Two main pump geometries have been developed in order to launch the light emitted by the diode laser into the gain medium. Namely, end-pumping and side-pumping. In end-pumping, the light emitted by the diode laser follows a path that is substantially co-linear with the path that the laser follows through the laser resonator.
  • the light emitted from the diode laser follows a path that is not co-linear with the path that the laser follows through the laser resonator, and is frequently perpendicular to the path that the laser follows through the laser resonator.
  • the local refractive index of the gain medium is dependent on the local temperature of the gain medium.
  • the temperature gradient also causes the formation of stresses in the gain medium, which lead to further variations in the refractive index.
  • the nonuniform refractive index of the gain medium distorts the spatial mode of the laser during its transit through the gain medium, which has the effect of reducing the beam quality of the output laser.
  • the non-uniform refractive index of the gain medium may also cause the polarisation state of the laser to become distorted, leading to depolarisation.
  • End pumping requires the pump light to be focussed into a small area of the gain medium, which concentrates the heating of the gain medium causing the formation of significant temperature gradients.
  • side pumping is not limited by the strict focussing requirements of end pumping, because side-pumping allows the pump light to be launched in an area that spans the entire length of the gain medium.
  • the intensity of the light launched into the gain medium will be lower if a side pumped geometry is used in comparison to an end pumped geometry. For this reason, side-pumping is often favoured for high power laser operation.
  • the temperature of the gain medium can also be controlled by cooling the gain medium.
  • Figure 1 shows a bounce geometry laser 2 with a gain medium 4 having a pumped face 6.
  • a resonator is constructed from a first mirror 8 and a second mirror 10.
  • the gain medium 4 is pumped with a diode laser 12 that is focussed through a focussing lens 14 and a transparent cooling block 16 into the pumped face 6 of the gain medium 4.
  • the path 18 of the laser inside the resonator includes a bounce 20 at the pumped face 6. Li a side pumped laser the bounce improves the gain and refractive index uniformity experienced by the laser during transit through the gain medium.
  • the laser emission 22 is emitted through the first mirror 8.
  • Cooling only the pumped face 6 of the gain medium 4 has been shown to reduce the temperature of the gain medium 4 whilst eliminating heat conduction from the face opposite to the pumped face of the gain medium [I].
  • the top and bottom faces on the gain medium i.e. those faces that lie in the plane of the page
  • This cooling geometry is termed "transverse cooling”.
  • the invention provides a side-pumped laser or amplifier device comprising: a solid- state gain medium having a plurality of faces including a pump face; a pump source for generating pump radiation and arranged to side pump the pump radiation into the pump face of the gain medium to induce population inversion in a shallow region of the gain medium adjacent the pump face; a beam path through the gain medium that includes a reflection at a grazing incidence angle from the pump face; a pump face cooling block made of material that is transparent to the pump radiation arranged optically between the pump source and the pump face of the gain medium and in thermal contact with the pump face to conduct heat away from the gain medium; and one or more further cooling blocks arranged in thermal contact with respective further faces of the gain medium to conduct heat away from the gain medium.
  • Cooling the pump face and further faces of the gain medium leads to an improved extraction of heat from the gain medium leading to a reduced overall temperature rise of the gain medium.
  • the detrimental effects caused by heating may be reduced.
  • greater output laser powers can be achieved.
  • the further faces of the gain medium are the transverse faces that 5 are not opposite to the pump face, hi a different embodiment, the further face of the gain medium is the face that is opposite to the pump face, hi a further different embodiment, the further faces are simultaneously the faces that are transverse to the pump face and the face that is opposite to the pump face.
  • the laser or amplifier device further comprises: a further pump source for generating pump radiation and arranged to side pump the pump radiation into a further pump face of the gain medium to induce population inversion in a region of the gain medium adjacent the further pump face; and a further pump face cooling block made of material that is transparent to the pump radiation arranged
  • a refractive index element is arranged between the pump face of the gain medium and the cooling block, wherein the refractive index element is made of a material having a refractive index lower than that of the gain medium, thereby to 25 support total internal reflection of a beam at the pump face inside the gain medium.
  • the refractive index element ensures that total internal reflection will occur at the pumped face of the gain medium.
  • a refractive index element may be added between each pump face and each cooling block.
  • a resonator is formed from a back reflector and an output coupler, wherein the back reflector is arranged to provide optical feedback into a first face of gain medium and the output coupler is arranged to provide optical feedback into a second face of gain medium defining a beam path that is incident upon and reflected 5 from the pumped face at a grazing angle of incidence (eg less than 20 degrees).
  • the laser device has a bounce geometry. Bounce geometry lasers reflect the laser from the pump face in order to reduce the effects of non-uniform gain in the laser and thermally-induced refractive index variations in the plane of the bounce. Cooling the pump face in a bounce geometry laser provides further control over the 10 operation of the laser to overcome detrimental effects caused by heating of the gain medium.
  • the output coupler and the back reflector are arranged around the gain medium to construct an extended cavity resonator.
  • the back reflector is integrally formed with the 15 first face of the gain medium and the output coupler is integrally formed with the second face of the gain medium.
  • the output coupler and the back reflector are integrally formed with the gain medium so that the laser device is a monolithic device. Cooling of a monolithic laser is important to its operation because monolithic lasers are more susceptible to increases in temperature than extended 20 cavity lasers because unlike extended cavity lasers, the alignment of the resonator components of a monolithic laser cannot be tuned in order to overcome the detrimental effects on the laser emission and the operation of the laser caused by heating of the gain medium.
  • the beam path makes multiple transits through the gain 25 medium making a single reflection from different pumped regions of the pump face on each transit.
  • the multiple passes through the gain region provides higher amplification than a single reflection and by reflecting from different parts of the gain region provides a smaller acceptance angle that can improve the spatial quality of the
  • 635366v1 amplification of a beam by further spatial averaging and when using an external cavity enhance the ability for the laser device to operate on a low order spatial mode.
  • Figure 1 shows a prior art bounce laser with cooling applied to the pumped face of the gain medium.
  • Figure 2 shows a cross section through a side pumped laser of a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 3 A shows a plan view of the first embodiment of the present invention with a 5 linear resonator.
  • Figure 3B shows a plan view of an alternative implementation of the first embodiment of the present invention with a ring resonator.
  • FIG. 3 C shows a plan view of a further alternative implementation of the first embodiment of the present invention in a monolithic resonator.
  • Figure 3D shows a plan view of a further alternative implementation of the first embodiment of the present invention with an amplifier. 5
  • Figure 3E shows a plan view of a further alternative implementation of the first embodiment of the present invention with an amplifier involving two passes with reflection from different regions of the same pump face on each pass.
  • Figure 4 shows a cross section through a second embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 5 shows a cross section through a third embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 6 shows a cross section through a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 5
  • Figure 2 shows a cross-section through an amplifier or laser according to a first embodiment.
  • a gain medium 30 which is highly absorbing at the pump wavelength is
  • a transparent cooling block 38 is placed in thermal contact with the pump face 32 and acts to cool the gain medium 30 in a lateral direction.
  • cooling blocks 40 are placed in thermal contact with an upper face 42 and a lower face 44 of the gain medium 30.
  • the transverse cooling blocks 40 cool the gain medium 30 in a transverse direction that is perpendicular to the pump face 32 and also perpendicular to the direction of transit of the amplifier or laser beam through the gain medium 30. Cooling the gain medium 30 in both the lateral and transverse directions
  • the transparent cooling block 38 may be formed from any material that is transparent to the pump wavelengths emitted by the diode laser 34 that can also conduct heat away from the pumped face. It is preferable for the transparent cooling block 38 to
  • the transparent cooling block 38 should be in good thermal contact with the pump face 32 using any conventional mechanism known in the art, such as optical contacting, T > P ⁇ 6 v i a d nes * ve bonding or diffusion (or thermal) bonding.
  • the transparent cooling block 38 may be air cooled.
  • heat sinks (not shown) of suitable high conductivity material (e.g. copper) may be contacted to the transparent cooling block 38.
  • the metal heat sinks may be air cooled, or may be cooled by flowing water, or the like, through channels in the metal heat sinks.
  • the transverse cooling blocks 38 may be formed from any material that is capable of transferring heat from the upper face 42 and the lower face 44 of the gain medium 30. There are fewer restrictions concerning the material used to form the transverse cooling blocks 40 than for the transparent cooling block 40, since there is no need for the transverse cooling blocks 40 to transmit at the pump wavelength. Thus, a metal such as copper or aluminium may be used to construct the transverse cooling blocks 40.
  • the transverse cooling blocks 40 may be contacted to the upper face 42 and the lower face 44 using any conventional mechanism known in the art, such as clamping or adhesion bonding. A thin layer of graphite, indium or another suitable material may be placed between each transverse cooling block 40 and the upper face 42 and/or the lower face 44, in order to attain a superior thermal connection.
  • Figures 3 A to 3E show plan views of different types of device that may be constructed using the cooling mechanism of the first embodiment.
  • FIG. 3A shows a plan view of a linear laser resonator according to the first embodiment.
  • the transverse cooling block 40 attached to the upper face 42 of the gain medium obscures the view of the gain medium 30.
  • the transverse cooling blocks 40 do not necessarily have to be of the same size and shape as the gain medium.
  • a first mirror 50 is arranged to reflect laser wavelengths emitted by active ions doped in the gain medium 30 back into a first end face 56 of the gain medium 30.
  • a second mirror 52 is arranged to reflect laser wavelengths back into a second end face 58. This process is termed optical feedback.
  • the path of the laser radiation is incident and reflected from the pump face. Further mirrors may be used to allow more control over the angle at which the light is coupled into the gain medium.
  • Laser emission 54 is emitted through the first mirror 50, which is less than 100% reflective.
  • the second mirror 52 may also be less than 100% reflective, dependent on the desired characteristics of the resonator.
  • the mirror through which the laser emission is derived is termed the output coupler, whereas the remaining mirror is termed the back reflector.
  • the first mirror 50 and the second mirror 52 are separated from the end faces of the gain medium. This type of resonator is often termed an extended cavity resonator.
  • a linear laser resonator is defined as a resonator in which the beam path followed in the first half of one round-trip around the resonator is identical to the beam path followed in the second half of one round- trip around the resonator (although the direction of travel in the second half is opposite to the direction of travel in the first half).
  • One round-trip is defined as the path that the beam follows inside the resonator, starting from any point in the beam path and following the beam path around the resonator until the beam arrives back at the starting point (assuming that no light is emitted by either the first mirror 50 or the second mirror 52) .
  • the relative angle between the first end face 56, the second end face 58, the first mirror 50, the second mirror 52 and the pumped face 32 controls the path that the laser follows in the resonator.
  • the lasing path takes a reflection from the pump face and is used to counter the non-uniform gain that is exhibited in side pumped solid state lasers and provide averaging of thermally induced refractive index variations in the plane of the bounce.
  • the light emitted from the diode laser is progressively absorbed across the gain medium 30.
  • a side pumped solid state laser exhibits a pump intensity that is at a maximum at the side of the gain medium nearest the diode laser, and at a minimum at the side furthest from the diode laser.
  • the local population inversion, and thus the local gain, is dependent on the local intensity of the pump.
  • the local gain varies across the cross-section of the laser.
  • the path of the laser is incident on and reflected from the pumped face of the gain medium. This bounce has the effect of reversing the side of the laser that is closest to the pumped face and the side of the laser that is furthest from the pumped face.
  • the laser experiences a more uniform gain over its cross-sectional area during its transit through the resonator.
  • the angle between the pump face 32 and the path of the laser or amplifier beam is typically between 0 and 20 degrees.
  • the angle of incidence of the 5 beam path is at a grazing incidence angle to the pump face 32 to ensure good overlap with the gain region and provide a long gain length. It is favourable if the grazing incidence angle with respect to the pump face (as opposed to the normal to the pump face) is less than 20 degrees.
  • the diode laser 34 may be a one-dimensional array of diode lasers (known as a diode- bar in the art) or a two-dimensional array of diode lasers (known as a diode stack in the art). It is also possible to use laser sources other than a diode laser as the pump source.
  • the optical system 36 may be used to focus or reshape the output radiation of the diode laser 34 to optimise the fraction of pump light that is incident on, and
  • the optical system 36 may be a cylindrical lens that is used to focus or collimate the fast axis of the output radiation of the diode laser 34. Alternatively, further focussing lenses may be used to provide more control over the focussing, or to focus the pump light in both axes.
  • the optical system 36 may be designed such that the pump light illuminates the entire pump face
  • the optical system 36 may also be used to focus or reshape the pump light so that only a narrow region of the pump face 32 is illuminated. This ensures that the absorbed pump light substantially overlaps with a low order spatial mode of the laser path, thereby improving the spatial quality of the laser emission.
  • the pump face 32 may be coated to minimise reflection of the pump
  • the pump light emitted by the diode laser 34 may also be launched without an optical system 36. Although this may lead to less pump light being launched into the gain medium 30, the reduction in overall efficiency may be offset by the associated reduction in the complexity of the laser device.
  • transverse cooling block 40 attached to the upper face 42 of the gain medium 30 is not shown so that the path of the laser or amplifier signal may be shown in the gain medium.
  • Figure 3B shows a plan view of a ring laser according to the first embodiment, m this type of resonator, a first beam path 60 followed in the first half of one round-trip around the resonator is different to a second beam path 62 followed in the second half of one round-trip around the resonator.
  • Laser emission 54 and 56 may occur in one of two directions dependent on the direction of travel of the light around the ring 10 resonator.
  • Figure 3 C shows a plan view of a monolithic bounce laser according to the first embodiment.
  • monolithic is used to describe a laser resonator in which each of the resonator components is integrally formed so that the resonator components are
  • the beam follows a path 70 that passes from one resonator component to the next without passing through a region of the surrounding atmosphere, with the exception of any emission that occurs through the first mirror 50.
  • the first mirror 50 is bonded directly onto a first end face 56 of the gain medium 30 and the second mirror 52 is bonded
  • the spacer 50 may simply be a transparent block. In this case, the
  • spacer 50 may be used to control thermally affected phenomena similarly to an undoped end cap described above.
  • the spacer 50 may be a non-linear material that is used to provide further functionality to the laser, such as Q-switching, mode-locking or frequency conversion.
  • Intensity related non-linear materials benefit from inclusion inside the laser resonator because the intensity of the laser radiation is ⁇ 3(L ⁇ at its highest value inside the resonator.
  • Figure 3D shows a plan view of an amplifier according to the first embodiment. Optical feedback is not required, and, in fact, is detrimental to the performance of amplifiers. Thus, there is no requirement to provide mirrors.
  • the input signal 80 is supplied by an external optical source.
  • the external optical source could be a laser.
  • the high gain available with the amplifier causes the output signal 82 to exhibit a significantly increased power in comparison to the input signal 80.
  • a master-oscillator power-amplifier arrangement A bounce geometry may be used in order to ensure that the input signal 80 is subjected to a more uniform gain and refractive index on its transit through the amplifier.
  • a further input signal 84 may also be passed through the amplifier.
  • the further signal 84 may be amplified by virtue of the gain caused by the diode laser 34, or a second diode laser may be arranged to pump the face opposite to the pump face 32, in order to provide further gain.
  • Figure 3 E shows a plan view of an alternative amplifier according to the first embodiment.
  • the input signal 80 is supplied by an external optical source.
  • the beam path is arranged to take two passes through the amplifier with reflection occurring from the pump face on each pass.
  • the first pass experience amplification and reflection at the pump face at position 31.
  • the second pass is provided by suitable feedback such as by mirrors 72 and 74 to allow the output from the first pass to re- enter the amplifier and be amplified and reflected at the same pump face at another position 33.
  • Positions 31 and 33 may be coincident.
  • Advantage can also be gained if the two reflections occur at different spatial regions with the pump face to allow superior overlap than a single pass and improved averaging of the non-uniformities.
  • FIG. 4 shows a cross-section through a laser or amplifier according to a second embodiment.
  • a lateral cooling block 90 is arranged in thermal contact with the face of the gain medium 30 that is opposite the pump face 32.
  • a refractive index element 92 is also shown. If the transparent cooling block 38 exhibits a refractive index greater than the gain medium 30 then total internal reflection could not occur from the pump face 32. Thus, it would not be possible to support a low-loss bounce laser or amplifier path.
  • This problem may be rectified using a refractive index element 92 that has a refractive index less than the gain medium 30.
  • the refractive index element 92 In order to aid heat removal from the gain medium, it would be beneficial if the refractive index element 92 also exhibits a good thermal conductance. However, if the refractive index element 92 is made sufficiently thin, its thermal conductance becomes a negligible factor in determining the heat conduction from the pump face 32.
  • the pump face 32 could be coated with a dielectric or a metallic material to causes a reflection of the laser or amplifier signal at the pump face. In this case, the refractive index element 92 would not be necessary. However, the dielectric or a metallic material would also have to transmit at the pump wavelength.
  • the refractive index element 92 or the dielectric or metallic material may be used in any of the embodiments described here.
  • Figure 5 shows a cross-section through a laser or amplifier according to a third embodiment.
  • the gain medium 30 is cooled by the transparent cooling block 38, the transverse cooling blocks 40 and the lateral cooling block 90. In this way, all of the faces of the gain medium, apart from the end faces, are cooled. Increasing the number of cooled faces allows the temperature of the gain medium 30 to be more strictly regulated.
  • FIG. 6 shows a cross-section through a laser or amplifier according to a fourth embodiment.
  • the pump power provided to the gain medium 30 is increased by pumping a second pump face 100 with a second diode laser 98 and an associated focussing lens 96 and a transparent cooling block 94 and producing a second gain region 7.
  • the transverse cooling blocks 40 cool the gain medium 30 in the transverse direction and the transparent cooling block 38 and the second transparent cooling block 100 cool the gain medium in the lateral direction.
  • Providing more pump power to the gain medium 30 allows higher power operation of the laser.
  • a 5 high overall pump power may be launched without causing detrimental effects due to localised heating that may occur if the pump power was launched through only one pump face.
  • transverse cooling blocks 40 may be replaced with further transparent 10 cooling blocks so that these transverse faces (i.e. the first face 42 and the second face 44) may also be pumped.
  • the number of diode lasers used to pump the cross-section is dependent only on the desired pump power and the physical limitations involved with arranging the diode lasers so that they may pump the gain medium.
  • a gain medium with an octagonal cross-section, having an output from one face could conceivably exhibit a beam path with seven bounces. This would allow each of the faces, except the output

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Crystallography & Structural Chemistry (AREA)
  • Lasers (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un dispositif laser ou amplificateur à pompage latéral. Un milieu de gain (30) du dispositif laser ou amplificateur est pompé latéralement par au moins une source de pompage (34). Le milieu de gain est refroidi pour éviter les effets préjudiciables du chauffage sur le mode spatial du dispositif laser ou amplificateur et sur les caractéristiques physiques du milieu de gain. Les faces pompées (32) du milieu de gain sont refroidies par des blocs de refroidissement transparents (38). Les faces non pompées (42, 44) sont refroidies par des blocs de refroidissement (40) ou par de l'air.
PCT/GB2007/001666 2006-05-08 2007-05-08 Dispositif laser ou amplificateur à pompage latéral WO2007129074A1 (fr)

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Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0609059.1 2006-05-08
GB0609059A GB0609059D0 (en) 2006-05-08 2006-05-08 Side-pumped laser or amplifier device

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WO2007129074A1 true WO2007129074A1 (fr) 2007-11-15

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Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2007129069A2 (fr) * 2006-05-08 2007-11-15 Imperial Innovations Limited Dispositif laser a pompage lateral
US7768640B2 (en) 2007-05-07 2010-08-03 The Board Of Trustees Of The University Of Illinois Fluorescence detection enhancement using photonic crystal extraction

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4949346A (en) * 1989-08-14 1990-08-14 Allied-Signal Inc. Conductively cooled, diode-pumped solid-state slab laser
US6167069A (en) * 1998-05-01 2000-12-26 The Regents Of The University Of California Thermal lens elimination by gradient-reduced zone coupling of optical beams
EP1063740A2 (fr) * 1999-06-21 2000-12-27 Litton Systems, Inc. Microlaser déclenché à pompage latéral
US20020057725A1 (en) * 1998-11-12 2002-05-16 Peressini Eugene R. Laser with gain medium configured to provide an integrated optical pump cavity

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4949346A (en) * 1989-08-14 1990-08-14 Allied-Signal Inc. Conductively cooled, diode-pumped solid-state slab laser
US6167069A (en) * 1998-05-01 2000-12-26 The Regents Of The University Of California Thermal lens elimination by gradient-reduced zone coupling of optical beams
US20020057725A1 (en) * 1998-11-12 2002-05-16 Peressini Eugene R. Laser with gain medium configured to provide an integrated optical pump cavity
EP1063740A2 (fr) * 1999-06-21 2000-12-27 Litton Systems, Inc. Microlaser déclenché à pompage latéral

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2007129069A2 (fr) * 2006-05-08 2007-11-15 Imperial Innovations Limited Dispositif laser a pompage lateral
WO2007129069A3 (fr) * 2006-05-08 2008-03-27 Imp Innovations Ltd Dispositif laser a pompage lateral
US7768640B2 (en) 2007-05-07 2010-08-03 The Board Of Trustees Of The University Of Illinois Fluorescence detection enhancement using photonic crystal extraction
US7961315B2 (en) 2007-05-07 2011-06-14 The Board Of Trustees Of The University Of Illinois Fluorescence detection enhancement using photonic crystal extraction

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