Optically pumped laser systems

Claim 2

A pulse laser system comprising: an optical pumping cavity formed of a surface of revolution and having an axis of symmetry; an optical resonator positioned inside the cavity along the axis and including: a pair of mirrors, one of which is fully reflecting and the other of which is partially transmitting; and a gain medium; an arc lamp which extends into the optical cavity and has a central axis which is coincident with the cavity axis to produce electromagnetic energy for pumping the gain medium in the resonator, the lamp comprising; a first primary electrode which is on the central axis and includes, an enclosure of electrically conductive material which is penetrated by a gas inlet hole encircling the central axis, a trigger electrode supported along the central aixs, internal to the enclosure, and electrically insulated from the enclosure, a spacer element of electrically conductive material which forms an extension to the enclosure and is penetrated by a plurality of gas outlet passages, and a trigger electrode energy source for establishing an electrical potential between the trigger electrode and the enclosure; a second primary electrode which is spaced apart from the first electrode by more than two centimeters along the central axis; a mounting formed into a gas inlet plenum which is fixedly attached to the second electrode; an envelope extending between the first and second electrodes, the envelope being transparent to radiation from the lamp and symmetrically disposed about the central axis to contain a gas flow between the electrodes; means for introducing gas from the plenum through the mounting and into the envelope at several positions adjacent to the second primary electrode, and means electrically connected to the first and second electrodes for establishing a voltage difference between the first and second electrodes.

Claim 3

A pulsed dye laser comprising: an optical pumping cavity formed of a surface of revolution and having an axis of symmetry; a linear optical resonator positioned inside the cavity along the axis and including: a pair of mirrors, one of which is fully reflecting the other of which is partially transmitting; a transparent cell to contain laser dye in the resonator; means for flowing the dye into and out of the cell; and an arc lamp which extends into the cavity and has a central axis which is coincident with the cavity axis to produce electromagnetic energy for pumping the dye in the resonator, the lamp comprising; an anode which is positioned on the central axis; a cathode which is spaced apart from the anode by more than two centimeters and positioned on the central axis, and includes, an enclosure of electrically conductive material which is penetrated by a gas inlet hole encircling the central axis, a trigger electrode supported along the central axis, internal to the enclosure, and electrically insulated from the enclosure, a spacer element of electrically conductive material which forms an extension to the enclosure and is penetrated by a plurality of gas outlet passages, and a trigger electrode energy source for establishing an electrical potential between the trigger electrode and the enclosure; a mounting formed into a gas inlet plenum which is fixedly attached to the second electrode; an envelope extending between the anode and cathode, the envelope being transparent to radiation from the lamp and symmetrically disposed about the central axis to conduct a gas flow between the electrodes; means for tangentially introducing gas from the plenum through the mounting and into the envelope at several positions adjacent to the cathode, the gas being introduced obliquely to the axis of symmetry to cause swirling of the gas and induce a vortex about the central axis between the anode and cathode; and means for removing gas from the envelope along the axis of symmetry through the hole in the cathode.

Claim 4

A pulsed dye laser comprising: an optical pumping cavity formed of a surface of revolution and having an axis of symmetry; a linear optical resonator positioned inside the cavity along the axis and including: a pair of mirrors, one of which is fully reflecting the other of which is partially transmitting; a transparent cell to contain laser dye in the resonator; means for flowing the dye into and out of the cell; and an arc lamp which extends into the cavity and has a central axis which is coincident with the cavity axis to produce electromagnetic energy for pumping the dye in the resonator, the lamp comprising; an anode which is positioned on the central axis; a cathode which is spaced apart from the anode by more than two centimeters and positioned on the central axis, and includes, an enclosure of electrically conductive material which is penetrated by a gas inlet hole encircling the central axis, a trigger electrode supported along the central axis, internal to the enclosure, and electrically insulated from the enclosure, a spacer element of electrically conductive material which forms an extension to the enclosure and is penetrated by a plurality of gas outlet passages, and a trigger electrode energy source for establishing an electrical potential between the trigger electrode and the enclosure; a mounting formed into a gas inlet plenum which is fixedly attached to the second electrode; an envelope extending between the anode and cathode, the envelope being transparent to radiation from the lamp and symmetrically disposed about the central axis to conduct a gas flow between the electrodes; means for tangentially introducing gas from the plenum through the mounting and into the envelope at several positions adjacent to the cathode, the gas being introduced obliquely to the axis of symmetry to cause swirling of the gas and induce a vortex about the central axis between the anode and cathode; and means for removing gas from the envelope along the axis of symmetry through the hole in the cathode.

Claim 5

The pulsed laser according to claim 2 wherein the means for flowing dye into the cell includes a small diameter thin wall tube which is attached to and provides structural support for the end of the resonator having the fully reflecting mirror.

Claim 6

The pulsed laser according to claim 2 wherein the pumping cavity is a sphere.

Claim 7

In a pulsed laser system the combination comprising: a gain medium; an optical pumping cavity for transferring optical radiation to the gain medium; an optical resonator positioned inside the cavity and containing the gain medium; an arc lamp which is positioned inside the cavity and produces pulsed optical radiation for pumping the gain medium, the lamp comprising: a first and a second primary electrode which are spaced apart from each other along an electrode axis by more than two centimeters the first electrode including, an enclosure of electrically conductive material which is penetrated by a gas inlet hole encircling the electrode axis, a trigger electrode supported along the electrode axis, internal to the enclosure, and electrically insulated from the enclosure, a spacer element of electrically conductive material which forms an extension to the enclosure and is penetrated by a plurality of gas outlet passages, and a trigger electrode energy source for establishing an electrical potential between the trigger electrode and the enclosure; an envelope which extends between the first and second electrodes and is transparent to the radiation produced by the lamp; means for introducing gas into the envelope at several positions adjacent to the second electrode, the gas being introduced at an angle to the axis to cause swirling of the gas and induce a stabilizing vortex about the axis; and means for removing the gas from the envelope; and means for providing electrical power to the arc lamp.

Claim 8

In a pulsed laser system the combination comprising: a gain medium; an optical pumping cavity for transferring optical radiation to the gain medium; an optical resonator positioned inside the cavity and containing the gain medium; an arc lamp which is positioned inside the cavity and produces pulsed optical radiation for pumping the gain medium, the lamp comprising: a first and a second primary electrode which are spaced apart from each other along an electrode axis by more than two centimeters the first electrode including, an enclosure of electrically conductive material which is penetrated by a gas inlet hole encircling the electrode axis, a trigger electrode supported along the electrode axis, internal to the enclosure, and electrically insulated from the enclosure, a spacer element of electrically conductive material which forms an extension to the enclosure and is penetrated by a plurality of gas outlet passages, and a trigger electrode energy source for establishing an electrical potential between the trigger electrode and the enclosure; an envelope which extends between the first and second electrodes and is transparent to the radiation produced by the lamp; means for introducing gas into the envelope at several positions adjacent to the second electrode, the gas being introduced at an angle to the axis to cause swirling of the gas and induce a stabilizing vortex about the axis; and means for removing the gas from the envelope; and means for providing electrical power to the arc lamp.

Claim 9

In a pulsed dye laser system the combination comprising; an arc lamp having two primary electrodes which are aligned along a lamp axis and more than two centimeters separated, one of said primary electrodes including; an enclosure of electrically conductive material which is penetrated by a gas inlet hole encircling the lamp axis, a trigger electrode supported along the lamp axis, internal to the enclosure, and electrically insulated from the enclosure, a spacer element of electrically conductive material which forms an extension to the enclosure and is penetrated by a plurality of gas outlet passages, and a trigger electrode energy source for establishing an electrical potential between the trigger electrode and the enclosure; a gain medium of dye material; an optical pumping cavity which encloses both the gain medium and the arc lamp, the pumping cavity providing for the transfer of optical radiation from the lamp to the gain medium; means for providing a vortex gas flow around the lamp axis; means for supplying pulsed electrical power to the arc lamp electrodes; a transparent cell to contain the dye within the cavity; and means for flowing the dye into and out of the cell.

Claim 10

In a pulsed dye laser system the combination comprising; an arc lamp having two primary electrodes which are aligned along a lamp axis and more than two centimeters separated, one of said primary electrodes including; an enclosure of electrically conductive material which is penetrated by a gas inlet hole encircling the lamp axis, a trigger electrode supported along the lamp axis, internal to the enclosure, and electrically insulated from the enclosure, a spacer element of electrically conductive material which forms an extension to the enclosure and is penetrated by a plurality of gas outlet passages, and a trigger electrode energy source for establishing an electrical potential between the trigger electrode and the enclosure; a gain medium of dye material; an optical pumping cavity which encloses both the gain medium and the arc lamp, the pumping cavity providing for the transfer of optical radiation from the lamp to the gain medium; means for providing a vortex gas flow around the lamp axis; means for supplying pulsed electrical power to the arc lamp electrodes; a transparent cell to contain the dye within the cavity; and means for flowing the dye into and out of the cell.

Claim 11

The invention according to claim 6 wherein the optical pumping cavity comprises a cylindrical ellipse and the arc lamp is located along one focus line of the cavity and the gain medium is located along the other focus line of the cavity.