The present disclosure provides a self-similar regenerative amplification method and an apparatus. The apparatus includes a broadband seed source, a spectrum shaping broader, a self-similar regenerative amplifier and a pulse compressor disposed in order of a light path. The spectrum shaping broader includes a time domain broader and a spectrum shaper. The time domain broader is configured to broaden the seed pulses, and fine-tune a width of the seed pulse. The spectrum shaper is configured to perform spectrum shaping on the broadened pulses to obtain saddle chirped pulses. The pulse regenerative amplification component includes a gain crystal and a nonlinear crystal. The self-similar regenerative amplifier receives the saddle chirped pulses, performs multiple stepwise amplifications and multiple nonlinear spectrum broadenings back and forth on the saddle chirped pulses, and output high-energy chirped pulses to the pulse compressor.

A laser system includes a seed source optically coupled to an extra cavity harmonic generator system may produce a round, non-astigmatic third harmonic output beam from a nominally round, non-astigmatic, diffraction limited input fundamental beam from the seed source. The system may include a second harmonic generation crystal. An input fundamental beam size is expanded in a non-walkoff direction for the SHG crystal at the SHG crystal input face. A higher harmonic generation crystal has an output face oriented at an oblique angle of incidence in a non-walkoff direction for the HHG crystal such that an output higher harmonic beam size is contracted in this direction. Expansion of the input fundamental beam at the SHG crystal input face exceeds reduction of third harmonic beam at the HHG crystal output face.

A laser system includes a master oscillator, which emits a train of optical seed pulses with variable intervals between the pulses. An optical power amplifier includes an optical gain medium, which receives and amplifies the optical seed pulses from the master oscillator, and a pump, which applies pump radiation to the optical gain medium. A pulse generator applies a control input to the master oscillator, which causes the intervals between the optical seed pulses to vary by at least 50% at a rate of change that is greater than a response frequency of the optical gain medium. A control unit drives the pump responsively to predicted intervals between the optical seed pulses, at a variable pump power selected so that the pulse amplitudes of the output pulses vary by no more than 20% irrespective of the varying intervals between the optical seed pulses.

Embodiments include an optical configuration of a laser for driving an inertial confinement target that may include a section configured to generate long pulse laser light (Primary Laser Source) and then to compress the long pulse with multiple compression stages to a desired pulse length, energy, and beam quality (Compression Section). These configurations can utilize compression stages that do not include any material optics operating near damage fluence, and that do not require material optics exposed to high fluences to couple compression stages to each other.

A laser assembly for generating laser output light at an output wavelength of approximately 183 nm includes a fundamental laser, an optical parametric system (OPS), a fifth harmonic generator, and a frequency mixing module. The fundamental laser generates fundamental light at a fundamental frequency. The OPS generates a down-converted signal at a down-converted frequency. The fifth harmonic generator generates a fifth harmonic of the fundamental light. The frequency mixing module mixes the down-converted signal and the fifth harmonic to produce the laser output light at a frequency equal to a sum of the fifth harmonic frequency and the down-converted frequency. The OPS generates the down-converted signal by generating a down-converted seed signal at the down-converted frequency, and then mixing the down-converted seed signal with a portion of the fundamental light. At least one of the frequency mixing, frequency conversion or harmonic generation utilizes an annealed, deuterium-treated or hydrogen-treated CLBO crystal.

The present application describes a method for controlling an output of a laser apparatus. The method includes a step of receiving, at the first multiplexer, an initial wavelength from a pump. The method also includes a step of receiving first and second seed wavelengths from a first and a second seed source, respectively. The method also includes a step of sending an output of the combiner to a first fiber. The method includes a step of combining, at a second multiplexer, an output of the first fiber. The method also includes a step of extracting the initial wavelength with the second multiplexer. Further, the method includes a step of sending the first and seed wavelengths to a second fiber.

A narrow linewidth laser in which an all-optical feedback line-up is used to improve the linewidth from a conventional laser source, such as a laser diode. The feedback line-up comprises an optical device having a controllable unbalanced optical coupler arranged on a cavity input path to couple a source signal from the laser source into the optical cavity, and to couple a seed signal received back from the optical cavity into the laser source. The seed signal has a lower power than the source signal. The unbalanced optical coupler may be an optical isolator arranged to couple the seed signal into the laser source at a power level selected to promote preferential stimulated emission within a narrower linewidth. By controlling the power of seed signal such that only a small portion thereof influences the lasing cavity, the narrowing effect of the preferential stimulated emission can be enhanced.

A waveguide optical gyroscope (WOG) is disclosed. One WOG may comprise an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source, a sensor comprising a waveguide loop disposed in a first cladding material interposed between layers of at least a second cladding material having an index of refraction lower than an index of refraction of the first cladding material, wherein the sensor is configured to receive an output signal of the ASE source, and a pump source configured to pump the first cladding material with an in-plane pump signal.

A laser-source assembly that is configured to illuminate a vacuum chamber containing atoms in the gaseous state so as to implement a cold-atom inertial sensor, the atoms having at least two fundamental levels that are separated by a fundamental frequency difference comprised between 1 and a few gigahertz, the assembly comprises: a master laser that emits a beam having a master frequency; a first control loop that is configured to stabilize the master frequency of the master laser on a frequency corresponding to half a set frequency of an atomic transition between a fundamental level and an excited level of the atoms; a slave laser that has a slave frequency; and a second control loop that is configured to stabilize the slave frequency of the slave laser with respect to the master frequency, the slave frequency being offset with respect to the master frequency successively, over time, by a first preset offset value, a second preset offset value, and a third preset offset value, the offset values being comprised in an interval equal to half the fundamental frequency difference plus or minus a few hundred MHz.

A light source includes: a seed light source configured to output incoherent seed light having a predetermined bandwidth; and a booster amplifier that is a semiconductor optical amplifier configured to optically amplify the seed light entered through a first end facet and output the amplified light through a second end facet. The booster amplifier has nL being set, which is a product of a refractive index n and a chip length L, so as to simultaneously suppress relative intensity noise (RIN) and ripple in the amplified light.