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USRE34192E
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US
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Miniaturized Q-switched diode pumped solid state laser
Assignee: Spectra Physics Laser Diode Systems Inc
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Filing: 1992-02-18
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Granted: 1993-03-09
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Expires: 2012-02-18
Abstract
Abstract A miniaturized Q-switch is added to the resonant cavity of a compact laser diode pumped solid state laser to produce short high peak power pulses. Q-switching the compact diode pumped solid state lasers takes advantage of the relatively high gain and short cavity length to provide a desirable combination of pulsewidth and pulse energy. Nd:YAG or Nd:YLF are useful solid state laser materials for Q-switching, or other longer lifetime rare earth ions such as erbium or holmium for greater energy storage. The Q-switch is formed of a material such as TeO 2 , SF 10 , or LiNbO 3 with an acoustooptic figure of merit substantially greater than fused silica. Pulsewidths of 10-50 ns are achieved at pulse energies of 10-20 microjoules. TEMOO output is easily produced by the compact laser pumped solid state resonator. Applications include materials processing, link blowing in semiconductor memories, marking and scribing, and optical time domain reflectometry.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas M. Baer
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 23:21
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/42; G02B6/4201; G02B6/4204; G02B6/4219; G02B6/422; G02B6/4226; H; H01; H01S; H01S3/00; H01S3/02; H01S3/025; H01S3/09; H01S3/091; H01S3/094; H01S3/0941; H01S3/09415; H01S3/10; H01S3/11; H01S3/1123; H01S3/117; H01S3/14; H01S3/16; H01S3/1601; H01S3/1603; H01S3/1611; H01S3/163; H01S3/164; H01S3/1643; H01S3/1663
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
128 words
A compact Q-switched solid state laser for producing short high peak power pulses, comprising: a miniaturized solid state laser rod; cavity forming means for defining a compact resonant cavity which contains the laser rod, said cavity forming means including output coupling means for extracting laser pulses from the cavity; laser diode pumping means positioned to longitudinally end pump the laser rod and to match the pumping volume to the mode volume in the laser rod; a miniaturized Q-switch mounted in the resonant cavity in a position to introduce a loss in the cavity so the rod can be pumped to store energy without lasing, and to remove the loss so that lasing in the cavity occurs with stored energy being dumped into a short high peak power pulse.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
128 words
A compact Q-switched solid state laser for producing short high peak power pulses, comprising: a miniaturized solid state laser rod; cavity forming means for defining a compact resonant cavity which contains the laser rod, said cavity forming means including output coupling means for extracting laser pulses from the cavity; laser diode pumping means positioned to longitudinally end pump the laser rod and to match the pumping volume to the mode volume in the laser rod; a miniaturized Q-switch mounted in the resonant cavity in a position to introduce a loss in the cavity so the rod can be pumped to store energy without lasing, and to remove the loss so that lasing in the cavity occurs with stored energy being dumped into a short high peak power pulse.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The laser of claim 1 wherein the laser rod is selected from Nd:YAG and Nd:YLF.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The laser of claim 1 wherein the laser rod is made of a solid state laser material doped with a rare earth ion selected from erbium and holmium.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
The laser of claim 1 wherein the pumping volume is matched to the mode volume to produce TEMOO output.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
The laser of claim 1 further including an optical fiber connected to the laser diode pumping means and coupling means for connecting the optical fiber to the resonant cavity in a fixed relationship for pumping the laser rod.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
13 words
The laser of claim 1 wherein the Q-switch is a miniaturized acousto-optic Q-switch.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
64 words
The laser of claim 6 wherein the acousto-optic Q-switch comprises a substrate of material having an acoustooptic figure of merit greater than fused silica positioned on the optical axis of the resonant cavity, a piezoelectric transducer mounted to the substrate, and means for connecting the piezoelectric transducer to an RF source to drive the transducer and generate an acoustic diffraction grating in the substrate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
The laser of claim 7 wnerein the substrate is selected from TeO 2 , SF 10 , and LiNbO 3 .
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
The laser of claim 1 for producing pulses having pulsewidths in the range of about 10-50 ns.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of producing a short high peak power pulse, comprising: forming a compact solid state laser resonator with a miniaturized solid state laser rod; pumping the laser rod with a laser diode pumping source; matching the pumping volume to the mode volume in the laser rod; creating an acoustic diffraction grating in a miniaturized Q-switch in the resonant cavity to prevent lasing while energy is stored in the laser rod; turning off the acoustic diffraction grating to extract the stored energy in the laser rod in a short high peak power pulse.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of producing a short high peak power pulse, comprising: forming a compact solid state laser resonator with a miniaturized solid state laser rod; pumping the laser rod with a laser diode pumping source; matching the pumping volume to the mode volume in the laser rod; creating an acoustic diffraction grating in a miniaturized Q-switch in the resonant cavity to prevent lasing while energy is stored in the laser rod; turning off the acoustic diffraction grating to extract the stored energy in the laser rod in a short high peak power pulse.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 10 including forming the laser rod from Nd:YAG or Nd:YLF.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 10 including forming the miniaturized Q-switch from a material having an acoustooptic figure of merit substantially greater than fused silica.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 12 including forming the Q-switch from TeO 2 , SF 10 , or LiNbO 3 .
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 10 further including forming pulses having a pulsewidth of about 10-50 ns.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 14 further comprising forming a plurality of pulses and focussing the pulses on a semiconductor memory to perform link blowing.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 14 further comprising forming a plurality of pulses and focussing the pulses on a material to mark or scribe the material.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 14 further including propagating a pulse down a long optical fiber to perform optical time domain reflectometry.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 10 further including matching the pumping volume to the mode volume to produce TEMOO output.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
43 words
A miniaturized acousto-optic Q-switch for a compact solid state laser, comprising; a substrate of a material having an acoustooptic figure of merit greater than fused silica; a piezoelectric transducer mounted to the substrate; means for connecting the transducer to an RF power supply.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
43 words
A miniaturized acousto-optic Q-switch for a compact solid state laser, comprising; a substrate of a material having an acoustooptic figure of merit greater than fused silica; a piezoelectric transducer mounted to the substrate; means for connecting the transducer to an RF power supply.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The Q-switch of claim 19 wnerein the substrate is selected from TeO 2 , SF 10 , and LiNbO 3 . .Iadd.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
18 words
The laser of claim 1 wherein the power pulse has a pulsewidth less than 50 ns. .Iaddend. .Iadd.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
60 words
The laser of claim 21 wherein the laser rod is doped with a rare earth. .Iaddend. .Iadd.23. The laser of claim 21 wherein the laser is doped with neodymium. .Iaddend. .Iadd.24. The laser of claim 21 wherein the laser is doped with Erbium or Holmium. .Iaddend. .Iadd.25. The laser of claim 21 wherein the Q-switch lies within the resonant cavity.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
13 words
.Iaddend. .Iadd.26. The method of claim 21 wherein the power pulse has a
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
138 words
pulsewidth less than 50 ns. .Iaddend. .Iadd.27. A compact Q-switched solid state laser for producing short high peak power pulses, comprising: a miniaturized solid state laser rod; cavity forming means for defining a compact resonant cavity which contains the laser rod, said cavity forming means including output coupling means for extracting laser pulses from the cavity; laser diode pumping means positioned to longitudinally end pump the laser rod and to match the pumping volume to the mode volume in the laser rod; and a miniaturized Q-switch mounted in the resonant cavity in a position to introduce a loss in the cavity so the rod can be pumped to store energy without lasing, and to remove the loss so that lasing in the cavity occurs with stored energy being dumped into a short high peak power pulse of at
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
138 words
pulsewidth less than 50 ns. .Iaddend. .Iadd.27. A compact Q-switched solid state laser for producing short high peak power pulses, comprising: a miniaturized solid state laser rod; cavity forming means for defining a compact resonant cavity which contains the laser rod, said cavity forming means including output coupling means for extracting laser pulses from the cavity; laser diode pumping means positioned to longitudinally end pump the laser rod and to match the pumping volume to the mode volume in the laser rod; and a miniaturized Q-switch mounted in the resonant cavity in a position to introduce a loss in the cavity so the rod can be pumped to store energy without lasing, and to remove the loss so that lasing in the cavity occurs with stored energy being dumped into a short high peak power pulse of at
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
24 words
least 10 microJoules TEMOO output. .Iaddend. .Iadd.28. The laser of claim 27 wherein the power pulse has a pulsewidth less than 50 ns. .Iaddend.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
61 words
.Iadd.29. The laser of claim 28 wherein the laser rod is doped with a rare earth. .Iaddend. .Iadd.30. The laser of claim 28 wherein the laser rod is doped with neodymium. .Iaddend. .Iadd.31. The laser of claim 28 wherein said laser rod is doped with Erbium or Holmium. .Iaddend. .Iadd.32. The laser of claim 28 wherein said Q-switch lies within said
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
102 words
resonant cavity. .Iaddend. .Iadd.33. A method of producing a short high peak power pulse, comprising: forming a compact solid state laser resonator with a miniaturized solid state laser rod; pumping the laser rod with a laser diode pumping source; matching the pumping volume to the mode volume in the laser rod; creating an acoustic diffraction grating in a miniaturized Q-switch in the resonant cavity to prevent lasing while energy is stored in the laser rod; and turning off the acoustic diffraction grating to extract the stored energy in the laser rod in a short high peak power pulse of at least 10
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
102 words
resonant cavity. .Iaddend. .Iadd.33. A method of producing a short high peak power pulse, comprising: forming a compact solid state laser resonator with a miniaturized solid state laser rod; pumping the laser rod with a laser diode pumping source; matching the pumping volume to the mode volume in the laser rod; creating an acoustic diffraction grating in a miniaturized Q-switch in the resonant cavity to prevent lasing while energy is stored in the laser rod; and turning off the acoustic diffraction grating to extract the stored energy in the laser rod in a short high peak power pulse of at least 10
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
22 words
microJoules TEMOO output. .Iaddend. .Iadd.34. The method of claim 33 wherein the power pulse has a pulsewidth less than 50 ns. .Iaddend.
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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) | 1996-03-08 | 1996-09-07 | 1997-03-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-03-08 | 2000-09-07 | 2001-03-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-03-08 | 2004-09-07 | 2005-03-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |