A solid-state laser device includes a resonator composed of a pair of mirrors; a laser rod disposed in the resonator, the laser rod including an antireflection film on an end surface thereof and having a chamfered portion at a peripheral edge of the end surface; and an end-surface protection member that is disposed at a position facing the end surface of the laser rod, that has an opening defining portion that forms an opening whose diameter is smaller than a diameter of an outer periphery of the end surface, and that limits a laser light path region in the end surface of the laser rod to a region inside of the outer periphery of the end surface.

A solid-state laser device includes a laser rod made of an alexandrite crystal; a flash lamp that outputs excitation light for exciting the laser rod, a glass tube for a lamp being made of quartz glass that at least blocks deep ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 200 nm to 300 nm, and transmits visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm or more; and a laser chamber that contains a tubular reflector that includes a hole part containing at least a portion of the laser rod or a portion of the flash lamp and is made of a porous material of polytetrafluoroethylene, an inner wall surface of the hole part being as a reflecting surface that reflects the excitation light.

A solid-state laser device includes a resonator composed of a pair of mirrors, a laser rod disposed in the resonator, and a laser chamber. The resonator and the laser rod are disposed in a housing. The laser rod is inserted through a hole of the laser chamber and is supported in a state in which two end portions are exposed. An O-ring is disposed at an exposed root of at least one rod end portion exposed from the laser chamber. The solid-state laser device includes a cover member that is disposed on a rod side surface of the rod end portion between the O-ring and a rod end surface and that blocks incidence of stray light, which is generated in the housing, on the O-ring.

Provided is a solid-state laser device in which a linear resonator including an output mirror and a rear mirror, a laser rod, and optical members are provided on a common base and are contained in a housing having the base as a portion. A holding part is provided to hold an excitation light source that extends parallel to the laser rod on a side of the laser rod opposite to the base. The optical members including a Q-switch are disposed between the laser rod and the rear mirror. An upper end position of the output mirror is at a position lower than a lower end position of the excitation light source held by the holding part, with the base as a reference. The holding part holds the excitation light source so as to be capable of being inserted and extracted with respect to the output mirror side in a longitudinal direction of the excitation light source.

A Q-switch structure including, a solid-state laser medium, and a magneto-optical material, wherein the solid-state laser medium and the magneto-optical material are joined and integrated. In addition, the solid-state laser medium has a thickness of 1 mm or more, and the solid-state medium and the magneto-optical material are directly joined. Consequently, the Q-switch is applicable to high optical output and contributes to the miniaturization of a laser apparatus.

An optical resonator having a short pulse width, a low manufacturing cost, and a high degree of freedom in design is provided. An optical resonator according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a pair of reflection members, a laser medium that is disposed between the pair of reflection members and is excited by specific excitation light to emit emission light, and a polarization control unit that is disposed between the pair of reflection members and controls polarization of the emission light, in which the polarization control unit has a microstructure on a surface so as to have different transmittances for polarized light beams orthogonal to each other out of zeroth-order diffracted light of the emission light.

An optical resonator having a short pulse width, a low manufacturing cost, and a high degree of freedom in design is provided. An optical resonator according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a pair of reflection members, a laser medium that is disposed between the pair of reflection members and is excited by specific excitation light to emit emission light, and a polarization control unit that is disposed between the pair of reflection members and controls polarization of the emission light, in which the polarization control unit has a microstructure on a surface so as to have different transmittances for polarized light beams orthogonal to each other out of zeroth-order diffracted light of the emission light.

A surgical laser system includes a pump module configured to produce pump energy within an operating wavelength, a gain medium configured to convert the pump energy into first laser energy, a non-linear crystal (NLC) configured to convert a portion of the first laser energy into second laser energy, which is a harmonic of the first laser energy, an output, and a first path diversion assembly having first and second operating modes. When the first path diversion assembly is in the first operating mode, the first laser energy is directed along the output path to the output, and the second laser energy is diverted from the output path and the output. When the first path diversion assembly is in the second operating mode, the second laser energy is directed along the output path to the output, and the first laser energy is diverted from the output path and the output.

A diode pumped solid state laser is provided which includes a ruby crystal optical gain medium and a high bandgap semiconductor laser diode (LD) or light emitting diode (LED) pump source to directly optically pump the gain medium. The high-bandgap semiconductor LD or LED is a semiconductor device whose chemical composition is chosen to provide output radiation at an approximate wavelength of 405 nm. The ruby crystal produces laser output at the relatively short wavelength of 694 nm.

A method for obtaining transient Bragg gratings in optical waveguides and several different applications of the transient Bragg gratings obtained using this method are presented. The basic mechanisms for obtaining the transient gratings in the waveguides are refractive index change due to Kerr nonlinearity, free carrier generation, and gratings formed by linear or non-linear absorption of thermal energy. The exemplary applications include an ultra-fast fiber laser source at any central wavelength, a fast spectral switch/modulator, transient pulse stretchers based on transient chirped gratings, Q-switching based on transient gratings, and time reversal of ultra-short pulses and low power sub-nanosecond pulse generations.