Techniques and architecture are disclosed for managing alkali vapor concentration in a lasing gas at non-condensing levels. In some instances, the disclosed techniques/architecture can be used to control and/or stabilize the concentration of alkali vapor in a lasing gas volume to any desired fraction of its saturation value under dynamically changing thermal loads. In some such instances, the concentration of alkali vapor in a given lasing gas volume can be maintained at a value which is sufficiently far from the saturation point to prevent or otherwise reduce condensation of the alkali vapor, for example, upon accelerating the lasing gas through a pressure drop into an optical pumping cavity of an alkali vapor laser system (e.g., such as a diode-pumped alkali laser, or DPAL, system). In some instances, the disclosed techniques/architecture can be used to establish a temperature gradient and/or an alkali vapor concentration gradient in the flowing lasing gas volume.

A laser apparatus includes: an oscillator configured to output seed light; an amplifier including a laser chamber provided in an optical path of the seed light and a pair of discharge electrodes provided inside the laser chamber; and a transform optical system provided in the optical path of the seed light between the oscillator and the amplifier and configured to transform the seed light in a way that suppresses a decrease in purity of polarization of a laser beam that is outputted from the amplifier.

Techniques and architecture are disclosed for preserving optical surfaces (e.g., windows, coatings, etc.) in a flowing gas amplifier laser system, such as a diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) system. In some instances, the disclosed techniques/architecture can be used, for example, to protect optical surfaces in a DPAL system from: (1) chemical attack by pump-bleached alkali vapor atoms and/or ions; and/or (2) fouling by adherence thereto of reaction products/soot produced in the DPAL. Also, in some instances, the disclosed techniques/architecture can be used to substantially match the geometry of the pumping volume with that of the lasing volume, thereby minimizing or otherwise reducing the effects of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) on DPAL output power. Furthermore, in some cases, the disclosed techniques/architecture can be used to provide a DPAL system capable of producing a beam output power in the range of about 20 kW to 10 MW, or greater.

A laser device is provided. The laser device includes: a laser tube having an opening in both ends thereof, and a fixing apparatus on at least one of the ends of the laser tube. The opening in at least one of the ends of the laser tube is sealed by the fixing apparatus. A movable assembly and a window are provided on the fixing apparatus. The window is movable relatively to the opening of the laser tube when being driven by the movable assembly, to change a transmission position of a laser light generated by the laser tube on the window.

Methods, systems, and devices are described. A system may include an optically transmissive substrate having a protective coating on a first surface and a blocking coating on a second surface that is opposite the first surface. The protective coating is configured to protect the optically transmissive substrate from at least ultraviolet laser energy, and the blocking coating has a first thickness that is less than about 280 nanometers and is adhered to a subset of the second surface. The system further includes a capping layer covering the blocking coating that is on the subset of the second surface and having a second thickness less than the first thickness of the blocking coating. Additionally, the system includes a sealing component positioned between the capping layer and a structure configured to support the optically transmissive substrate.

A gas laser apparatus includes a chamber; a window provided in the chamber; an optical path tube connected to the chamber; a gas supply port that supplies a purge gas into the optical path tube; an exhaust port that exhausts a gas in the optical path tube; and a control unit, the exhaust port including a main exhaust port provided in the optical path tube, and an auxiliary exhaust port provided in the optical path tube upstream of a flow of the gas in the optical path tube with respect to positions of the window and the main exhaust port, the control unit causing the gas to be exhausted through the main exhaust port before a laser beam is emitted from the chamber and causing the gas to be exhausted through the auxiliary exhaust port in at least a partial period when the laser beam is emitted.

The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and computer readable media for modeling thermal effects within a multi-laser device. For example, systems described herein may include a plurality of laser devices that output energy streams having corresponding operating windows. One or more systems described herein may include a set of accumulators for tracking quantities of energy samples within operating windows and populating a queue representative of the tracked quantities. One or more systems described herein may additionally include filters and a summing module for determining temperature values for operating windows and synchronizing the temperature values with one another to determine an accurate system temperature for the multi-laser device. The features described herein facilitate synchronization of data for corresponding operating windows to provide an accurate determination of system temperature based on a combination of self-heating and crosstalk effects between multiple laser devices.

A light source apparatus includes a chamber and a metal fluoride trap coupled to the chamber and configured to provide clean gas to a set of window housing apparatuses coupled to the chamber. Each window housing apparatus is configured to reduce metal fluoride dusting on an optical window and includes a window housing supporting an optical window, an aperture apparatus coupled to the window housing, and an insert disposed between the aperture apparatus and the optical window. The aperture apparatus includes a plurality of cells configured to trap metal fluoride dust flowing upstream from the chamber through the aperture apparatus toward the optical window. The insert is configured to control a first flow rate of the clean gas along the optical window and a second flow rate of the clean gas through the aperture apparatus.

A metrology apparatus includes: a probe apparatus configured to produce a probe in a vicinity of an optical element that is in fluid communication with a gain medium of a gas discharge chamber and is exposed to one or more dust particles; a detection apparatus configured to detect an interaction between the probe and one or more dust particles, and to produce an output signal based on the detected interaction; and a processing apparatus configured to receive the output signal and to estimate a property of the one or more dust particles.

Gaseous laser systems and related techniques are disclosed. Techniques disclosed herein may be utilized, in accordance with some embodiments, in providing a gaseous laser system with a configuration that provides (A) pump illumination with distinct edge surfaces for an extended depth and (B) an output beam illumination from a resonator cavity with distinct edges in its reflectivity profile, thereby providing (C) pump beam and resonator beam illumination on a volume so that the distinct edge surfaces of its pump and resonator beam illumination are shared-edge surfaces with (D) further edge surfaces of the amplifier volume at the surfaces illuminated directly by the pump or resonator beams, as defined by optical windows and (optionally) by one or more flowing gas curtains depleted of the alkali vapor flowing along those optical windows. Techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, for example, in a diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) system, in accordance with some embodiments.