Patent US5909306A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5909306A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Solid-state spectrally-pure linearly-polarized pulsed fiber amplifier laser system useful for ultraviolet radiation generation
Assignee: United States Department of the Navy
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Filing: 1998-06-12
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Granted: 1999-06-01
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Expires: 2018-06-12
Abstract
Abstract A solid-state laser source of tunable and narrow-bandwidth UV light is disclosed. The system utilizes a fiber amplifier in a resonant cavity. An acousto-optic or electro-optic modulator is incorporated into the cavity in such a way that the energy stored in the gain medium is efficiently extracted in the form of high-peak-power, short-duration pulses. In addition, narrow bandwidth and linearly polarized output are simultaneously achieved. The light from the cavity is converted into the ultraviolet by frequency tripling, quadrupling, and/or quintupling the infrared light. The narrow bandwidth, or relatively pure light, is preserved with intracavity filtering, and the high peak light powers increase the efficiency of the nonlinear crystals in the frequency conversion stage.
Inventors
- 👤 Lew Goldberg
- 👤 Dahv A. V. Kliner
- 👤 Jeffrey P. Koplow
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 13:57
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/70; G03F7/70383; G03F7/704; H; H01; H01S; H01S3/00; H01S3/05; H01S3/06; H01S3/063; H01S3/067; G02; G02F; G02F1/00; G02F1/35; G02F1/37; H01S3/06708; H01S3/06712; H01S3/10; H01S3/11; H01S3/1123; H01S3/115; H01S3/117
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
53 words
A laser system, comprising: a fiber amplifier that amplifies optical signals in a cavity; a temporal filter that selectively removes loss from the cavity enabling the optical signals to build into a pulse in the cavity; and at least one wavelength filter that removes undesirable wavelengths from the optical signals in the cavity.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
53 words
A laser system, comprising: a fiber amplifier that amplifies optical signals in a cavity; a temporal filter that selectively removes loss from the cavity enabling the optical signals to build into a pulse in the cavity; and at least one wavelength filter that removes undesirable wavelengths from the optical signals in the cavity.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resonant cavity is defined by at least two mirrors.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber amplifier comprises a rare-earth-doped fiber.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber amplifier comprises single mode fiber.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least two bandpass wavelength filters, one located at either end of the fiber amplifier.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the temporal filter is an acousto-optic modulator.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the temporal filter is an electro-optic modulator.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
A system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the electro-optic modulator comprises at least one polarizing beam splitter and a Pockels cell.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the temporal filter couples the optical signals out of the cavity.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising polarizing elements that maintain a predetermined polarization in the optical signals.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the polarizing elements comprise a linear polarizing filter and Faraday rotators.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fiber amplifier maintains the polarization of the light it transmits.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
A system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the fiber amplifier is physically manipulated to create stress-induced birefringence.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
21 words
A system as described in claim 1, further comprising a frequency conversion stage that converts a wavelength of the optical signals.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
32 words
A system as described in claim 14, further comprising a detector which senses the converted optical signals as they are tuned on and off an absorption band of a species of interest.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
22 words
A system as described in claim 1, wherein the temporal filter modulates a gain of the cavity to temporally narrow the pulse.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
A system as described in claim 1, wherein the temporal filter is turned on for short bursts at a periodicity of the round trip travel time of the pulse in the cavity.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
57 words
A laser pulse forming system, comprising: a rare-earth-doped fiber amplifier that amplifies optical signals in a cavity; a temporal modulator that removes loss from the cavity and then couples the optical signals out of the cavity after a predetermined number of a round trips; and a bandpass optical filter that removes undesirable wavelengths from the optical signals.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
57 words
A laser pulse forming system, comprising: a rare-earth-doped fiber amplifier that amplifies optical signals in a cavity; a temporal modulator that removes loss from the cavity and then couples the optical signals out of the cavity after a predetermined number of a round trips; and a bandpass optical filter that removes undesirable wavelengths from the optical signals.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
20 words
A system as claimed in claim 18, further comprising polarizing elements that maintain a predetermined polarization in the optical signals.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
43 words
A method for forming a laser pulse, comprising: removing loss from a cavity; amplifying optical signals in the cavity with a fiber amplifier; removing undesirable wavelengths from the optical signals; and coupling the optical signals out of the cavity after a predetermined time.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
43 words
A method for forming a laser pulse, comprising: removing loss from a cavity; amplifying optical signals in the cavity with a fiber amplifier; removing undesirable wavelengths from the optical signals; and coupling the optical signals out of the cavity after a predetermined time.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method as described in claim 20, further comprising amplifying the optical signals with the fiber amplifier in a double pass arrangement.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method as described in claim 20, wherein the fiber amplifier comprises a rare-earth-doped fiber.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method as described in claim 20, further comprising frequency converting the optical signals into ultraviolet light.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method as described in claim 20, further comprising amplifying the optical signals in the cavity for a time related to a round trip travel time of the optical signals in the cavity.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method as described in claim 20, further comprising amplifying the optical signals cavity with a periodicity related to a round trip travel time of the optical signals in the cavity and temporally modulating the optical signals to form a pulse.
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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) | 2002-05-31 | 2002-11-30 | 2003-06-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-05-31 | 2006-11-30 | 2007-06-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-05-31 | 2010-11-30 | 2011-06-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |