A ring amplifier amplifies one or more spot-beams that scan a circular pattern in a two-dimensional FOV to extend the range of range steerable laser transmitter or an active situational sensor. Mechanical, solid-state or optical phase array techniques may be used to scan the spot-beam(s) in the circular pattern. Mirrors are preferably positioned to redirect the spot-beams to enter and exit the ring amplifier through sidewalls to amplify the spot-beam and return it along a path to scan the circular pattern. For efficiency, the pumps and thermal control may be synchronized to the circular scan pattern to only pump and cool the section of gain medium in which the spot-beam is currently scanned and the next section of gain medium in the circular scan pattern.

A device may include a transient optical amplifier having stored energy associated with a lower boundary and an upper boundary of a dynamic equilibrium, and a target level defining stored energy for amplifying a high energy input pulse to a higher energy output pulse. The device may include a pump to increase the amplifier's stored energy, and a source to pass low energy control pulses or the high energy input pulse to the amplifier. The device may include a controller configured to maintain the amplifier's stored energy in the dynamic equilibrium by requesting low energy control pulses for the amplifier at a high repetition frequency. The controller may wait to receive a trigger. Based on receiving the trigger, the device may stop passing low energy control pulses to the amplifier, and may pass the high energy input pulse to the amplifier when the amplifier's stored energy reaches the target level.

A solid-state laser system may include: a solid-state laser unit configured to output first pulsed laser light with a first wavelength and second pulsed laser light with a second wavelength; a first solid-state amplifier configured to receive the first pulsed laser light, and output third pulsed laser light with the first wavelength; a wavelength converter configured to receive the third pulsed laser light, and output harmonic light with a third wavelength; a second solid-state amplifier configured to receive the second pulsed laser light, and output fourth pulsed laser light with the second wavelength; a Raman laser unit configured to receive the fourth pulsed laser light, and output Stokes light with a fourth wavelength; and a wavelength conversion system configured to receive the harmonic light and the Stokes light, and output fifth pulsed laser light with a fifth wavelength converted in wavelength from the third wavelength and the fourth wavelength.

A multipass chirped pulse amplification system outfitted with a single-grating, simultaneous spatial and temporal focusing (SSTF) compressor platform is provided. Such a system provides the ability to vary the beam aspect ratio of an SSTF beam, and thus the degree of pulse-front tilt at a focus, while maintaining a net zero-dispersion system. The optical system may include a first optical element or set of optical elements that receives and then varies a pulse-front tilt of a light beam, and a second optical element or set of optical elements that focuses the light beam having the varied pulse-front tilt that is output by the first optical element or set of optical elements. The first optical element or set of optical elements includes an optical grating, two dihedrals, and a retroflector roof mirror.

A multipass laser amplifier includes a mirror, a mirror device, a gain crystal, and refractive or diffractive beam-steering element. The gain crystal is positioned on a longitudinal axis of the multipass laser amplifier between the mirror and the mirror device. The beam-steering element is positioned on the longitudinal axis between the gain crystal and the mirror device. The beam-steering element has no optical power and deflects a laser beam, by refraction or diffraction, for each of multiple passes of the laser beam between the first mirror and the mirror device, such that each pass goes through the gain crystal for amplification of the laser beam and goes through a different respective off-axis portion of the beam-steering element. The no optical power of the beam-steering element enables maintaining a large beam size in the gain crystal, thereby facilitating amplification to high average power.

A solid-state laser system may include: a solid-state laser unit configured to output first pulsed laser light with a first wavelength and second pulsed laser light with a second wavelength; a first solid-state amplifier configured to receive the first pulsed laser light, and output third pulsed laser light with the first wavelength; a wavelength converter configured to receive the third pulsed laser light, and output harmonic light with a third wavelength; a second solid-state amplifier configured to receive the second pulsed laser light, and output fourth pulsed laser light with the second wavelength; a Raman laser unit configured to receive the fourth pulsed laser light, and output Stokes light with a fourth wavelength; and a wavelength conversion system configured to receive the harmonic light and the Stokes light, and output fifth pulsed laser light with a fifth wavelength converted in wavelength from the third wavelength and the fourth wavelength.

A laser system having a multi-pass amplifier system which includes at least one seed source configured to output at least one seed signal having a seed signal wavelength, at least one pump source configured to output at least one pump signal, at least one multi-pass amplifier system in communication with the seed source and having at least one gain media, a first mirror, and at least a second mirror therein, the gain media device positioned between the first mirror and second mirror and configured to output at least one amplifier output signal having an output wavelength range, the first mirror and second mirror may be configured to reflect the amplifier output signal within the output wavelength range, and at least one optical system may be in communication with the amplifier system and configured to receive the amplifier output signal and output an output signal within the output wavelength range.

An amplifier may include a chamber, and first and second mirrors. The chamber may include a pair of discharge electrodes opposed to each other in a first direction, a laser exciting medium, an input window allowing seed light to pass therethrough into the chamber, and an output window allowing amplified laser light to pass therethrough to outside in a second direction intersecting with the first direction. The first and second mirrors may each include a reflection region, and be opposed to each other in a third direction intersecting with the first direction with the pair of discharge electrodes in between. A projected image of the reflection region of the first mirror in the second direction and a projected image of the reflection region of the second mirror in the second direction may provide a gap of a size equal to or greater than zero in between.

An apparatus for generating and amplifying laser beams at approximately 1 micrometer wavelength is disclosed. The apparatus includes an ytterbium-doped gain-crystal pumped by an ytterbium fiber-laser. The fiber-laser enables a pump wavelength to be selected that minimizes heating of the gain-crystal. The apparatus can be configured for generating and amplifying ultra-fast pulses, utilizing the gain-bandwidth of ytterbium-doped gain-crystals.

An optical arrangement includes a disk-shaped laser-active medium configured to create an optical gain upon being pumped within a pump volume, and a laser beam incoupler for input coupling a laser beam as a seed laser beam into the laser-active medium. The laser beam interacts with the laser-active medium. The optical arrangement further includes an auxiliary resonator for creating an auxiliary resonator radiation field. The auxiliary resonator radiation field interacts with the laser-active medium. The auxiliary resonator is configured to suppress at least one mode of the auxiliary resonator radiation field that overlaps with at least one mode of the laser beam in the pump volume.