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US5309471A
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Optically pumped laser minicavity, its production process and laser using said cavity
Assignee: Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et Aux Énergies Alternatives
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Filing: 1992-12-10
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Granted: 1994-05-03
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Expires: 2012-12-10
Abstract
Abstract Optically pumped laser minicavity, its production process and laser using said cavity, wherein the minicavity comprises an electrically insulating, parallelepipedic, solid emitter (1b), having two polished parallel lateral faces (6, 8), a monocrystalline substrate (2) and several monocrystalline layers epitaxied on the substrate and having in directions parallel to said faces a hardness equal to that of the substrate, one of the layers constituting a guide layer (4) able to guide the light emitted by the emitter and the pumping light and another layer (12) constituting a non-guiding protective layer, the protective layer and the substrate constituting two opposite faces of the emitter perpendicular to the lateral faces, laser activating ions being contained within the substrate and/or in one of the layers. In the case of an internal cavity, semi-reflecting mirrors (9, 10) are placed on the lateral faces of the emitter.
Inventors
- 👤 Bernard Chambaz
- 👤 Isabelle Chartier
- 👤 Bernard Ferrand
- 👤 Denis Pelenc
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 11:00
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01S; H01S3/00; H01S3/14; H01S3/16; H01S3/05; H01S3/06; H01S3/063; H01S3/0602; H01S3/0604; H01S3/0627; H01S3/09; H01S3/091; H01S3/094; H01S3/0941; H01S3/1601; H01S3/1603; H01S3/1611; H01S3/163; H01S3/1631; H01S3/1635; H01S3/164; H01S3/1643; H01S3/1655; H01S3/1661; H01S3/1666
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
157 words
A solid, electrically insulating laser emitting minicavity having a paralellepipedic shape, and a light guiding structure comprising two polished, parallel lateral faces (6, 8), a monocrystalline substrate (2) and a plurality of monocrystalline layers (4, 12, 14) epitaxied one on top of the other on the substrate and having in directions parallel to said faces a hardness equal to that of the substrate, the substrate and the epitaxied layers each being non-cleavable, one of the layers constituting a guide layer (4, 14) able to guide pumping light and light emitted by the minicavity and having a refraction index higher than that of adjacent materials (2, 4, 12) and another layer (12) constituting a non-guiding protective layer, the protective layer and the substrate constituting two opposite faces of the minicavity perpendicular to said lateral faces, laser activating ions being contained within the substrate, one of the epitaxied layers, or both the substrate and one of the epitaxied layers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
157 words
A solid, electrically insulating laser emitting minicavity having a paralellepipedic shape, and a light guiding structure comprising two polished, parallel lateral faces (6, 8), a monocrystalline substrate (2) and a plurality of monocrystalline layers (4, 12, 14) epitaxied one on top of the other on the substrate and having in directions parallel to said faces a hardness equal to that of the substrate, the substrate and the epitaxied layers each being non-cleavable, one of the layers constituting a guide layer (4, 14) able to guide pumping light and light emitted by the minicavity and having a refraction index higher than that of adjacent materials (2, 4, 12) and another layer (12) constituting a non-guiding protective layer, the protective layer and the substrate constituting two opposite faces of the minicavity perpendicular to said lateral faces, laser activating ions being contained within the substrate, one of the epitaxied layers, or both the substrate and one of the epitaxied layers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, characterized in that the laser activating ions are contained in one of the epitaxied layers, thus constituting an active layer (4).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide layer (4) and the active layer constitute the same layer.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, further comprising a semireflecting mirror (9, 10) placed on each of the lateral faces (6, 8).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 4, characterized in that the two mirrors (9, 10) are constituted by deposits of material made on said lateral faces.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 4, characterized in that the mirrors (9, 10) are constituted by deposits of multilayer dielectrics.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, characterized in that the supplementary layer (12) is of the same nature as the active layer.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
45 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, characterized in that the substrate (2) and the epitaxied layers (4, 12, 14) are mixed metal oxides and in that the laser activating ions are ions of rare earths, transition metals or rare earths and transition metals.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
71 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, characterized in that the substrate (2) is a substrate chosen from among Y 3 Al 5 O 12 ; Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 ; Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 with part of the gallium substituted by scandium or by magnesium or zirconium; LaMgAl 11 O 19 ; Y 2 SiO 5 ; and YAl 3 (BO 3 ) 4 .
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 9, characterized in that the supplementary layer (12) has the same composition as the substrate.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
54 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, characterized in that the laser emitter comprises an undoped Y 3 Al 5 O 12 substrate, an active Y 3 Al 5 O 12 layer doped with neodymium ions also serving as a guide layer and an undoped, supplementary Y 3 Al 5 O 12 layer.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
64 words
Process for the production of the laser minicavity according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: a) liquid phase epitaxy of the monocrystalline layers on the substrate, with the protective layer last, b) cutting in the assembly obtained in a) a parallelepiped, whose cutting planes (6, 7) are perpendicular to the layers and define the lateral faces and c) polishing said lateral faces.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
Process according to claim 12, characterized in that the surface of the epitaxied layer which is to receive the protective layer is polished.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
24 words
Process according to claim 12, characterized in that dielectric deposits (9, 10) are produced on said lateral faces in order to constitute semireflecting mirrors.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
Optically pumped crystal minilaser, characterized in that it comprises the laser emitting minicavity of claim 1.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
18 words
Minilaser according to claim 15, characterized in that the pumping means comprise at least one laser diode (16).
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
Minilaser according to claim 15, characterized in that the diode is joined to one of its lateral faces (6) at the active layer (4).
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
18 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, wherein said laser activating ions are contained within the substrate.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
21 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, wherein said laser activating ions are contained within one of the epitaxied layers.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The laser emitting minicavity according to claim 1, wherein said laser activating ions are contained within both the substrate and one of the epitaxied layers.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-05-02 | 1997-11-01 | 1998-05-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-05-02 | 2001-11-01 | 2002-05-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-05-02 | 2005-11-01 | 2006-05-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |