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.

A plate-like laser medium has a through-hole for providing a flow of a cooling medium. The laser medium unit includes the plurality of laser media. A laser beam amplification device includes a laser medium unit 10, an excitation light source 21 that causes excitation light to enter the laser medium unit 10, a through-hole 16a of a window member as a unit for supplying the cooling medium in a through-hole 14a of the laser medium 14, and a cooling medium flow path F1 arranged around the laser medium unit 10.

Direct diode-pumped Ti:sapphire laser amplifiers use fiber-coupled laser diodes as pump beam sources. The pump beam may be polarized or non-polarized. Light at wavelengths below 527 nm may be used in cryogenic configurations. Multiple diode outputs may be polarization or spectrally combined.

The invention relates to an optical waveguide (3) as a laser medium or as a gain medium for high-power operation, wherein the optical waveguide (3) is an optical fiber, the light-guiding core of which, at least in sections, is doped with rare earth ions. It is an object of the invention to provide an optical waveguide as a laser or a gain medium, and a laser/amplifier combination realized therewith, in which the output signal of the laser or gain medium is better stabilized. The invention achieves this object by virtue of the maximum small signal gain of the optical waveguide (1) being up to 60 dB, preferably up to 50 dB, more preferably up to 40 dB, even more preferably up to 30 dB, on account of the concentration of the rare earth ions and/or the distribution thereof in the light-guiding core. Moreover, the invention relates to the use of such an optical waveguide as an amplifier fiber (3) in a laser/amplifier combination.

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. The mode-locked laser can produce sub-50-ps optical pulses at a repetition rates between 200 MHz and 50 MHz, rates suitable for massively parallel data-acquisition. The optical pulses can be used to generate a reference clock signal for synchronizing data-acquisition and signal-processing electronics of the portable instrument.

A dynamic, thermally-adaptive cuboid laser crystal mount is provided that is suitable for use with end-pumped, conductively-cooled solid state lasers. Various embodiments may provide a mount for supporting a cuboid rod host crystal for an end-pumping solid state laser. Various embodiments may solve laser crystal stress problems typically experienced in end-pumped solid state lasers. Various embodiments may also provide access to the crystal end surfaces for pumping and enable and maintain sturdy alignment of the crystal with continuous and uniform surface contact between the mount and the crystal. Various embodiments of mounts may provide a compact conductive cooling configuration compatible with any heat sink reservoir, controlling and maintaining a stable crystal temperature, thus avoiding thermally induced mechanical stresses. Various embodiment mounts may thereby further extend the fracture threshold of the laser crystal.

The present invention provides a rotating chalcogenide gain media ring to provide un-precedented power generation with minimal thermal lensing for CW lasing in the mid-IR spectrum.

A Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) probe using a dove prism for the laser media. The use of a dove prism allows for the removal of two mirrors over prior art schemes. The use of the dove prism allows for the light from the spark to be analyzed from the return path.

A diode pumped, solid state laser is provided that can produce over 16 billion, 15 mJ, 10 ns Q-Switched laser pulses with a low measured decay rate. The laser can be integrated into a global biomass measuring instrument, and mounted on the International Space Station (ISS).

A laser apparatus may include a master oscillator, a plurality of amplifiers, a photodetector device configured to detect a light beam traveling back along a laser beam path, and a controller. The photodetector device may include a first photodetector configured to detect energy of a light beam traveling back along the laser beam path and a second photodetector configured to detect power of the light beam traveling back along the laser beam path. The controller may be configured to determine that a return beam is generated when the intensity of the energy detection signal exceeds a first threshold. The controller may be configured to determine that a self-oscillation beam is generated when the intensity of the power detection signal exceeds a second threshold.