Systems and methods for spectrally broadening seed pulses with a single pass laser amplifier are disclosed. A bulk TM:II-VI polycrystalline material with combined gain and nonlinear characteristic provides passive (cold) spectral broadening of high power seed pulses. Continuous pumping provides more significant spectral broadening. In particular, pulsed pumping of TM:II-VI polycrystalline material (e.g. Cr2+:ZnS, Cr2+:ZnSe, and Cr2+:CdSe) is shown to provide significant spectral broadening to the super continuum generation SCG level. Pulse picking, pump sources, master oscillators and various optical components are described.

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 system includes a build-up cavity to locally increase the power of light beams within the build-up cavity, where the light beams interact with samples to sense a substance of interest. The build-up cavity is disposed within a main cavity that includes a gain material to amplify the light beams. A portion of the light beams oscillating in the build-up cavity propagators through the build-up cavity and functions as a feedback to control the linewidth of the light beams. The two cavities can function as two separate filters and light beams at wavelengths that propagate through both of these filters can be preferentially amplified. The combination of the build-up cavity and the main cavity can achieve high power and narrow linewidth for the light beams without complex electronics, thereby decreasing the size, weight, and power (SWaP) of the system.

The present invention demonstrates a technique for achieving milli-joule level and higher energy, broad bandwidth laser pulses centered around 2.4 micrometer with a kilohertz and other repetition rate. The key to such technique is to start with a broadband micro-joule level seed laser at around 2.4 micrometer, which could be generated through difference frequency generation, four-wave mixing process and other methods. This micro-joule level seed laser could then be amplified to above one milli-joule through chirped pulse amplification in a Cr2+:ZnSe or Cr2+:ZnS crystal pumped by a commercially available Ho:YAG or other appropriate suitable lasers. Due to the high seed energy, fewer gain passes are needed to achieve a milli-joule level output thus significantly simplifies laser architectures. Furthermore, gain narrowing effect in a typical chirped pulse amplifier is also mitigated and thus enable a broadband output.

Solid state lasers emitting at first and a second wavelengths include an additional a conversion amplifier for converting photons having the first wavelength into photons having the second wavelength, thereby improving output efficiency of a preferred wavelength. Erbium lasing materials such as erbium doped garnets and fluorides, are employed, along with the conversion amplifier formed of a transition metal doped II-VI semiconductor, e.g., Cr:ZnSe.

The present invention provides systems and methods for producing short laser pulses that are amplified and spectrally broadened in a bulk gain media. The bulk material, having laser gain and nonlinear properties, is concurrently exposed to an optical pump input and a seed input, the pump power being sufficient to amplify and spectrally broaden the seed pulse.

A system includes a build-up cavity to locally increase the power of light beams within the build-up cavity, where the light beams interact with samples to sense a substance of interest. The build-up cavity is disposed within a main cavity that includes a gain material to amplify the light beams. A portion of the light beams oscillating in the build-up cavity propagators through the build-up cavity and functions as a feedback to control the linewidth of the light beams. The two cavities can function as two separate filters and light beams at wavelengths that propagate through both of these filters can be preferentially amplified. The combination of the build-up cavity and the main cavity can achieve high power and narrow linewidth for the light beams without complex electronics, thereby decreasing the size, weight, and power (SWaP) of the system.

Provided is a laser resonator for generating a laser light by absorbing energy from outside. The laser resonator includes a metal body and a gain medium layer having a ring shape. The gain medium layer of a ring shape may be provided on the metal body and may generate the laser light by a plasmonic effect.

A method of performing spatial separation of different wavelengths in a single laser cavity includes generating, from a pump radiation source, pump radiations in spatially separate channels and focusing the generated pump radiations in the spatially separate channels towards an active gain medium having amplification spectra. The method also includes emitting from the active gain medium, amplified radiations of the spatially separate channels, each channel of the spatially separate channels representing a corresponding wavelength and focusing the emitted amplified radiations of the spatially separated channels towards an aperture. The method further includes suppressing, at the aperture, an off-axis mode of the amplified radiations of the spatially separate channels, diffracting the amplified radiations of the spatially separate channels received through the aperture to provide diffracted radiations and returning a portion of the diffracted radiations back to the aperture, and collimating the diffracted radiations of the spatially separate channel.

In various embodiments, an emission source may be provided. The emission source may also include a gain medium including a halide semiconductor material. The emission source may further include a pump source configured to provide energy to the gain medium.