A laser that emits light at all available frequencies distributed throughout the spectral bandwidth or emission bandwidth of the laser in a single pulse or pulse train is disclosed. The laser is pumped or seeded with photons having frequencies distributed throughout the superunitary gain bandwidth of the gain medium. The source of photons is a frequency modulated photon source, and the frequency modulation is controlled to occur in one or more cycles timed to occur within a time scale for pulsing the laser.

Low wavelength infrared Super Continuum (SC) signals from a master oscillator seeds an amplifier that supports the Raman effect. Counter-propagating, high-power, continuous wave, and quasi-continuous wave quantum cascade lasers pumps (amplify) the optical seeds forming multiple coherent wavelength optical pump sources.

In an example, a tandem pumped fiber amplifier may include a seed laser, one or more diode pumps, and a single or plural active core fiber. The single or plural active core fiber may include a first section to operate as an oscillator and a second different section to operate as a power amplifier. The one or more diode pumps may be optically coupled to the first section of the single or plural active core fiber, and the seed laser may be optically coupled to the single active core or an innermost core of the plural active core fiber.

Systems and methods for a self-injection locked SBS laser are provided herein. In certain embodiments, a system includes a pump laser source providing a pump laser; an SBS resonator receiving the pump laser through a first port and scattering some of the pump laser to provide an SBS laser through the first port, wherein a frequency shift of Brillouin scattering within the SBS resonator is an integer multiple of a free-spectral range for the SBS resonator; a filter receiving the pump laser on a first filter port and the SBS laser on a second filter port, wherein the pump laser is output through the second filter port and the SBS laser is output through a drop port; and a pump laser path coupling the output pump laser into the pump laser source, wherein a frequency of the pump laser becomes locked to a resonance frequency of the SBS resonator.

A non-reciprocal optical assembly for injection locking a laser to a resonator is described. The laser emits a light beam, and the resonator receives the light beam and returns a feedback light beam to the laser such that the feedback light beam causes injection locking. The non-reciprocal optical assembly is interposed between and optically coupled to the laser and the resonator. The non-reciprocal optical assembly includes a first port that receives the light beam from the laser, and a second port that outputs the light beam to the resonator and receives the feedback light beam from the resonator. The first port also outputs the feedback light beam to the laser. The light beam passes through the non-reciprocal optical assembly with a first power loss, and the feedback light beam passes through the non-reciprocal optical assembly with a second power loss (the first power loss differs from the second power loss).

Systems and methods for a self-injection locked SBS laser are provided herein. In certain embodiments, a system includes a pump laser source providing a pump laser; an SBS resonator receiving the pump laser through a first port and scattering some of the pump laser to provide an SBS laser through the first port, wherein a frequency shift of Brillouin scattering within the SBS resonator is an integer multiple of a free-spectral range for the SBS resonator; a filter receiving the pump laser on a first filter port and the SBS laser on a second filter port, wherein the pump laser is output through the second filter port and the SBS laser is output through a drop port; and a pump laser path coupling the output pump laser into the pump laser source, wherein a frequency of the pump laser becomes locked to a resonance frequency of the SBS resonator.

In an example, a tandem pumped fiber amplifier may include a seed laser, one or more diode pumps, and a single or plural active core fiber. The single or plural active core fiber may include a first section to operate as an oscillator and a second different section to operate as a power amplifier. The one or more diode pumps may be optically coupled to the first section of the single or plural active core fiber, and the seed laser may be optically coupled to the single active core or an innermost core of the plural active core fiber.

A laser transmitter assembly for use in a Coherent Doppler Wind Lidar (“CDWL”) system includes a telescope/scanner assembly, a receiver, and a master oscillator crystal and a power amplifier crystal each constructed of Ho:YAG. The crystals are end-pumped to transmit an output beam through the telescope/scanner assembly with a high repetition rate of 200-300 Hz and 35 mJ of energy. As part of the CDWL system, a pump laser end-pumps the master oscillator and power amplifier crystals using a pump beam having a nominal wavelength of 1.905 μm. A seed laser transmits a seeding beam into the master oscillator crystal at a nominal wavelength of 2.0965 μm. The telescope/scanner assembly transmits the generated laser beam through an atmosphere toward a scene of interest, collects a backscattered return signal, and communicates the backscattered return signal to the receiver during operation of the CDWL system.

A laser oscillation amplifier includes a seed laser that can produce an input laser beam, a pumping source that can produce a pump light, a semiconductor laser shaping device that can receive the pump light and to produce a shaped pump light, a beam combiner that can combine the shaped pump light and the input laser beam, and a gain fiber coupled with the beam combiner. The gain fiber can absorb the pump light and amplifying the input laser beam to produce an output laser beam.

A laser apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a plurality of semiconductor lasers, a plurality of optical switches disposed in the optical paths of the plurality of respective semiconductor lasers, a wavelength conversion system configured to convert pulsed beams outputted from the plurality of optical switches in terms of wavelength to generate wavelength-converted beams, an ArF excimer laser amplifier configured to amplify the wavelength-converted beams, and a controller configured to control the operations of the plurality of semiconductor lasers and the plurality of optical switches, and the plurality of semiconductor lasers are each configured to output a laser beam so produced that wavelengths of the wavelength-converted beams are wavelengths at which the ArF excimer laser amplifier performs amplification and differ from the optical absorption lines of oxygen.