A tunable source includes a short-cavity laser optimized for performance and reliability in SSOCT imaging systems, spectroscopic detection systems, and other types of detection and sensing systems. The short cavity laser has a large free spectral range cavity, fast tuning response and single transverse, longitudinal and polarization mode operation, and includes embodiments for fast and wide tuning, and optimized spectral shaping. Disclosed are both electrical and optical pumping in a MEMS-VCSEL geometry with mirror and gain regions optimized for wide tuning, high output power, and a variety of preferred wavelength ranges; and a semiconductor optical amplifier, combined with the short-cavity laser to produce high-power, spectrally shaped operation. Several preferred imaging and detection systems make use of this tunable source for optimized operation are also disclosed.

An optical device including an acousto-optic modulator (AOM), a laser, an upstream optical fibre extending between the laser and the AOM, a downstream optical fibre located downstream of the AOM and a reflector connected to the fibre downstream of the AOM. The optical device including the upstream fibre is a polarisation-maintaining optical fibre, and/or the downstream fibre is arranged so that a transit time of the optical beam through said downstream fibre from the AOM to the reflecting means is nonzero and shorter than or equal to half an open duration of the AOM, and/or the AOM includes a crystal in which the entrance/exit faces are planar and are at a nonzero angle to each other, and/or at least one of the two entrance/exit faces is at a nonzero angle to a direction of propagation of the acoustic wave in the crystal.

A laser amplifier for a green laser pulse includes at least one gain medium doped with praseodymium and at least one gallium nitride based diode laser for pumping the gain medium. A green seed laser pulse going through the gain medium becomes an amplified green laser pulse.

Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) systems configured to generate and amplify multi-pulses are described. The nonlinear interaction of pulses can generate a multiple pulse pack with a dense time separation between pulses. Reducing or eliminating the nonlinear interaction can be provided by spectrally and/or temporally splitting pulses in the chirped amplification system.

Objects and/or grouped emitters are anti-symmetrically excited. The anti-symmetric radiation emitted by the objects generate an interference pattern with a node in the spacing between the objects. The spacing may be sub-wavelength and/or below a resolution limit for the emitted radiation. Samples within the spacing may be detected via distortion to the inference pattern and visualized (including sub-resolution limit features) either directly or through reconstruction analysis from the interference pattern.

Devices and associated methods for measuring orientation using an optical gyroscope are disclosed. One example optical gyroscope includes a spherical component configured to allow propagation of light in one or more confined modes inside the spherical component. The spherical component includes a gain medium for enhancing a sustained confinement of light within the spherical component. The optical gyroscope also includes one or more detectors positioned outside of the spherical component to detect at least one characteristic of the light, or a change thereto, in response to a rotation of the optical gyroscope.

A laser system includes: a pulse laser system configured to emit a first laser beam having a first wavelength component and having a first polarization component and a second laser beam having the first wavelength component and having a second polarization component; a guide laser apparatus configured to emit a third laser beam having a second wavelength component; a polarization conversion mechanism configured to be able to switch between a first state in which the third laser beam is emitted as a first guide laser beam having the first polarization component, and a second state in which the third laser beam is emitted as a second guide laser beam having the second polarization component; a dichroic mirror configured to reflect the first and second laser beams having the first wavelength component or the first and second guide laser beams having the second wavelength component, to transmit the first and second laser beams or the first and second guide laser beams that are not reflected by the dichroic mirror; and a polarization beam splitter configured to reflect the first laser beam and the first guide laser beam, and to transmit the second laser beam and the second guide laser beam.

Additive manufacturing devices and methods for the same are provided. The additive manufacturing device may include a stage configured to support a substrate, a printhead disposed above the stage, and a targeted heating system disposed proximal the printhead. The printhead may be configured to heat a build material to a molten build material and deposit the molten build material on the substrate in the form of droplets to fabricate the article. The targeted heating system may be configured to control a temperature or temperature gradient of the droplets in a flight path interposed between the printhead and the substrate.

Additive manufacturing devices and methods for the same are provided. The additive manufacturing device may include a stage configured to support a substrate, a printhead disposed above the stage, and a targeted heating system disposed proximal the printhead. The printhead may be configured to heat a build material to a molten build material and deposit the molten build material on the substrate in the form of droplets to fabricate the article. The targeted heating system may be configured to control a temperature or temperature gradient of the droplets deposited on the substrate, an area proximal the substrate, or combinations thereof.

An optical system can lock a wavelength of a tunable laser to a specified wavelength of a temperature-insensitive spectral profile of a spectral filter. In some examples, the spectral filter, such as a Fabry-Perot filter, can have a temperature-insensitive peak wavelength and increasing attenuation at wavelengths away from the peak wavelength. The spectral filter can spectrally filter the laser light to form filtered laser light. A detector can detect at least a fraction of the filtered laser light. Circuitry coupled to the detector and the laser can tune the tunable laser to set a signal from the detector to a specified value corresponding to a specified wavelength in the spectral profile, and thereby adjust the selectable wavelength of the tunable laser to match the specified wavelength. In some examples, the optical system can include a polarization rotator, and can use polarization to separate incident light from return light.