Apparatus and methods for producing ultrashort optical pulses are described. A high-power, solid-state, passively mode-locked laser can be manufactured in a compact module that can be incorporated into a portable instrument for biological or chemical analyses. The pulsed laser may produce sub-100-ps optical pulses at a repetition rate commensurate with electronic data-acquisition rates. The optical pulses may excite samples in reaction chambers of the instrument, and be used to generate a reference clock for operating signal-acquisition and signal-processing electronics of the instrument.

Laser systems and methods configured to reconstruct an image of an object from an input comprising: the objects scattered intensity distribution (SID) and the objects compact support; the system comprising: a first lens and a second lens, in a four-focal telescope configuration; a gain with a minor at one end, at first end of the telescope, configured to amplify and reflect a received beam; a reflective spatial light modulator, at second end of the telescope, configured to selectively reflect intensity distributions of a received beam, according to their spatial location, the selective reflection is configured to maintain the intensity distributions of the objects SID; a spatial intensity binary mask, located between the telescope's lenses, comprising an aperture in the form of the objects compact support; the mask is configured to transfer only beams passing through the aperture. The reconstructed objects image is provided at least at the mask's aperture.

Laser systems and methods configured to reconstruct an image of an object from an input comprising: the objects scattered intensity distribution (SID) and the objects compact support; the system comprising: a first lens and a second lens, in a four-focal telescope configuration; a gain with a minor at one end, at first end of the telescope, configured to amplify and reflect a received beam; a reflective spatial light modulator, at second end of the telescope, configured to selectively reflect intensity distributions of a received beam, according to their spatial location, the selective reflection is configured to maintain the intensity distributions of the objects SID; a spatial intensity binary mask, located between the telescope's lenses, comprising an aperture in the form of the objects compact support; the mask is configured to transfer only beams passing through the aperture. The reconstructed objects image is provided at least at the mask's aperture.

A frequency double or mixing laser includes a laser pump, a rear optical element, a Brewster window, a laser generator medium, an output coupler and a nonlinear crystal located inside the resonator cavity. The nonlinear crystal may be located inside the resonator cavity before the output coupler. The laser may further include at least one optical element that controls the phase or/and the amplitude of the fundamental laser beam to a high-order.

A system and method for tuning and infrared source laser in the Mid-IR wavelength range. The system and method comprising, at least, a plurality of individually tunable emitters, each emitter emitting a beam having a unique wavelength, a grating, a mirror positioned after the grating to receive at least one refracted order of light of at least one beam and to redirect the beam back towards the grating, and a micro-electro-mechanical systems device containing a plurality of adjustable micro-mirrors.

A system and method for tuning and infrared source laser in the Mid-IR wavelength range. The system and method comprising, at least, a plurality of individually tunable emitters, each emitter emitting a beam having a unique wavelength, a grating, a mirror positioned after the grating to receive at least one refracted order of light of at least one beam and to redirect the beam back towards the grating, and a micro-electro-mechanical systems device containing a plurality of adjustable micro-mirrors.

A method and apparatus for characterizing an optical element. The optical element is part of a laser and is mounted on a translation stage to scan the optical element transverse to an intracavity laser beam. A performance characteristic of the laser is recorded as a function of position of the optical element.

A method and apparatus for characterizing an optical element. The optical element is part of a laser and is mounted on a translation stage to scan the optical element transverse to an intracavity laser beam. A performance characteristic of the laser is recorded as a function of position of the optical element.

The present disclosure provides a dark cavity laser, including: a frequency stabilized laser output device configured to generate a laser light, and perform a frequency stabilized processing on the generated laser light to output it to the dark cavity laser device as a pump light of a gain medium of a dark cavity; and a dark cavity laser device including a main cavity, and a cavity of the main cavity is provided inside with a gas chamber of a gain medium of a dark cavity laser light, where the gain medium of the dark cavity laser light is alkali metal atoms; the dark cavity laser device is configured to receive the pump light, and form a polyatomic coherent stimulated radiation between transition levels of the alkali metal atoms in the gas chamber by a weak feedback of the main cavity to generate the dark cavity laser light.

A tunable laser device is described. In one example, the tunable laser device includes an adaptive ring mirror, a gain waveguide, a loop mirror waveguide, and a booster amplifier waveguide. The gain waveguide and the boost amplifier waveguide can be formed in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) region of the tunable laser device, and the adaptive ring mirror and the loop mirror waveguide can be formed in a silicon photonics region of the tunable laser device. The adaptive ring mirror includes a phase shifter optically coupled between a number of MMI couplers. By inducing a phase shift using the phase shifter, the wavelength of the output of the tunable laser device can be altered or adjusted for use in coherent fiber-optic communications, for example, among other applications.