A method of making a porous three-dimensional object. The method comprises: a) positioning a first layer of particles on a build plate; b) heating the first layer of particles sufficiently to fuse the particles together to form a first build layer having a first porosity; c) exposing the first build layer to a laser beam to form one or more pores, the exposed first build layer having a first modified porosity, the laser beam being emitted from an optical fiber; d) adjusting one or more beam characteristics of the laser beam prior to or during the exposing of the first build layer, the adjusting of the laser beam occurring prior to the laser beam being emitted from the optical fiber; e) positioning an additional layer of particles on the exposed first build layer; f) heating the additional layer of particles sufficiently to fuse the particles together to form a second build layer having a second porosity; g) exposing the second build layer to the laser beam to form one or more pores, the exposed second build layer having a second modified porosity, the laser beam being emitted from the optical fiber; h) adjusting one or more beam characteristics of the laser beam after fusing the particles to form the second build layer and prior to or during the exposing of the second build layer, the adjusting of the laser beam occurring prior to the laser beam being emitted from the optical fiber, and i) repeating e), f), optionally g) and optionally h) to form a three-dimensional object.

This solid laser amplification device has: a laser medium part that has a solid medium, into which a laser light enters from an entrance part and from which the laser light (L) is emitted to the outside from an exit part, and an amplification layer, which is provided on the surface of the medium, receives the laser light in the medium, and amplifies and reflects said light toward the exit part; a microchannel cooling part that cools the amplification layer; and a thermally conductive part that is provided so as to make contact between the amplification layer and the cooling part and transfers the heat of the amplification layer to the cooling part.

A solid laser amplification device having a laser medium that has a solid medium, into which a laser light enters and from which the laser light is emitted, and an amplification layer, provided on the surface of the medium, receives the laser light in the medium, and amplifies and reflects the light toward the exit; and a microchannel cooling part that has a plurality of cooling pipelines, into which a cooling solvent is conducted and which are arranged parallel to the surface of the amplification layer, and a cooling surface, at the outer periphery of the cooling pipelines and attached on the surface of the amplification layer, the microchannel cooling part cooling the amplification layer. The closer the position of the cooling pipeline to a position facing a section of the amplification layer that receives the laser light, the greater the cooling force exhibited by the cooling part.

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.

A joined body (10) includes an optical material (11) and a cooling material (12) that are capable of transmitting light and are joined together. At a joining interface between the optical material (11) and the cooling material (12), the joined body (10) is capable of transmitting light, and also an atom contained in the optical material (11) diffusively enters the cooling material (12) in such a degree that an interference fringe is not generated in the joined body (10). A diffusive entry length of an atom contained in the optical material (11) into the cooling material (12) may be in a range from approximately 1.0 nm to approximately 10 m.

A YAG ceramic bonded body in which a YAG ceramic and a YAG ceramic or optical glass are bonded, wherein the YAG ceramic bonded body comprises glass as a bonding layer, and has a rate of change of transmittance that is within 7%. An object of this invention is to provide a bonded body in which a YAG ceramic and a YAG ceramic are bonded, or a bonded body in which a YAG ceramic and optical glass are bonded, and which is capable of suppressing the reflection of light at the bonded interface, as well as the production method thereof.

A surface-emitting laser array includes a plurality of light emitting parts. Each light emitting part includes a reflection mirror including aluminum gallium arsenide (Al.sub.xGa.sub.(1-x)As) where x is greater than 0.95 but less than or equal to 1; an active layer; and an electrode surrounding an emission region, from which laser light is emitted, the electrode covering a region between adjacent light emitting parts in the plurality of light emitting parts.

Systems and methods for imaging in the short wave infrared (SWIR), photodetectors with low dark current and associated circuits for reducing dark currents and methods for generating image information based on data of a photodetector array. A SWIR imaging system may include a pulsed illumination source operative to emit radiation pulses in the SWIR band towards a target resulting in reflected radiation from the target; (b) an imaging receiver including a plurality of Ge PDs operative to detect the reflected SWIR radiation and a controller, operative to control activation of the receiver for an integration time during which the accumulated dark current noise does not exceed the time independent readout noise.

Apparatus and method for the amplification of a laser beam by pumping a homogenous composite source beam through an amplification medium. A slab crystalline active medium is side-pumped via a pump module having a laser diode bar and an optical assembly. The optical assembly has a fast axis collimator and a lens in the fast axis and an array of slow axis collimators and the lens in the slow axis. The lenses are spaced so that the individual source beams from the emitters are: imaged upon a first facet of the amplification medium; have a beam waist at or near the first facet; are sized to fill the first facet; substantially overlap on the first facet; and are directed so that peripheral source beams undergo total internal reflection on entering the amplification medium. Embodiments of multiple laser diode bars and optical assemblies are described together with double side pumping arrangements.

Various embodiments provide a high-efficiency and directional non-resonant laser using a scattering cavity and a method of manufacturing the same. According to various embodiments, the non-resonant laser may include a gain medium unit in which a scattering cavity and an entrance communicating with the scattering cavity are provided, and a pumping and supply unit configured to supply pumping light to an inside of the scattering cavity. The gain medium unit may be implemented to be excited by the pumping light on the inside of the scattering cavity and to output emission light through the entrance. According to various embodiments, the gain medium unit may weaken the pumping light while reflecting the pumping light on the inside of the scattering cavity, and may amplify the emission light while reflecting the emission light on the inside of the scattering cavity.