In one embodiment, a lidar system includes a light source configured to emit light at one or more wavelengths between 1200 nm and 1400 nm. The lidar system also includes a scanner configured to scan the emitted light across a field of regard of the lidar system and a receiver configured to detect a portion of the emitted light scattered by a target located a distance from the lidar system. The lidar system further includes a processor configured to determine the distance from the lidar system to the target based at least in part on a round-trip time for the portion of the emitted light to travel from the lidar system to the target and back to the lidar system.

A laser system, comprised of: a laser cavity; a gain medium a pump, a saturable absorber (SA); a first mirror and a second mirror; wherein a ratio of an area of the laser beam within the gain medium to an area of the beam area within the SA is greater than 1, and wherein the beam generates a gain medium radius spot on the gain medium and a saturable absorber radius spot on the saturable absorber such that a ratio between the gain medium radius spot on the gain medium and a saturable absorber radius spot on the saturable absorber is within a range of 1.7-7 is disclosed. A method for using the laser system e.g., for producing a pulsed energy is further disclosed.

The present disclosure relates to a laser system. The laser system may have at least non-flat gain media disc. At least one pump source may be configured to generate a beam that pumps the non-flat gain media disc. A laser cavity may be formed by the pump source and the non-flat gain media disc. An output coupler may be included for receiving and directing the output beam toward an external component.

A microchip laser and a handpiece including the microchip laser. The microchip laser includes a laser medium with input and output facets. The input facet is coated with a highly reflective dielectric coating at microchip laser wavelength and highly transmissive at pump wavelength. The output facet is coated with a partially reflective at microchip laser wavelength dielectric coating. A saturable absorber attached by intermolecular forces to output facet of microchip laser. A handpiece for skin treatment includes the microchip laser.

Materials, method of making and methods of using a composite laser for producing multiple temporal ignition pulses. The composite laser includes a pump source forming an optical path in an active media in a cavity of the laser; and a Q-switched material located in a center of a rod in communication with the active media and blocking a portion of the active media.

An apparatus includes a PWG having a core region and a cladding layer. The amplifier is configured to receive pump light. The core region is configured to amplify an input beam using energy from the pump light to generate an amplified output beam. The apparatus also includes a cooling fluid configured to cool the core region. The cooling fluid has a lower refractive index than the core region and the cladding layer in order to support guiding of the input beam and pump light within the amplifier. The amplifier also includes first and second endcaps attached to opposite faces of the core region and cladding layer. The core region, cladding layer, and endcaps collectively form a monolithic fused structure. Each endcap has a major outer surface that is larger in area than a combined area of the faces of the core region and cladding layer to which the endcap is attached.

A device and a method for measuring a thermal load caused by energy transfer upconversion in a laser gain crystal. Increasing the pump power multiple times so that the power meter obtains multiple thresholds for a single-frequency laser; obtaining an average pump threshold of the output laser; obtaining cavity parameters of the single-frequency laser; obtaining thermal focal lengths on the tangential and sagittal planes of the laser gain crystal inside the single-frequency laser; obtaining individual ABCD matrices of the laser system on the tangential and the sagittal planes; obtaining a thermal load at the threshold based on the ABCD transfer matrix of the laser gain crystal on the tangential plane, the ABCD transfer matrix of the laser gain crystal on the sagittal plane, and the average pump threshold of the laser system; obtaining a thermal load caused by ETU at threshold based on the thermal load at the threshold.

A laser medium unit includes: a plate-shaped laser gain medium which includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface and generates emission light by the irradiation of excitation light from the first surface; a reflection member that is provided on the second surface so as to reflect the excitation light and the emission light; and a cooling member that cools the laser gain medium. The laser gain medium includes an irradiation area which is irradiated with the excitation light and an outer area which is located outside the irradiation area when viewed from a thickness direction intersecting the first surface and the second surface. The cooling member is thermally connected to the second surface through the reflection member so that a cooling area of the laser gain medium is formed on the second surface.

A transparent ceramic optic includes: a lasing region comprising at least one lasing species dopant; and a transparent region transparent to light generated by the lasing species. At least the transparent region is doped with at least one other dopant species such that the lasing region and the transparent region are characterized by a difference in refractive index between the two regions in an amount of about 1.010.sup.4 or less. Inventive formulations of inks suitable for fabricating transparent ceramic optics having desirable compositional characteristics such as concentration gradients in desired spatial arrangements, e.g. using additive manufacturing techniques such as direct ink writing and/or extrusion freeform fabrication are also disclosed, along with suitable techniques for forming the transparent ceramic optics from such inks.

A lidar system can include a solid-state laser to emit pulses of light. The solid-state laser can include a Q-switched laser having a gain medium and a Q-switch. The lidar system can also include a scanner configured to scan the emitted pulses of light across a field of regard and a receiver configured to detect at least a portion of the scanned pulses of light scattered by a target located a distance from the lidar system. The lidar system can also include a processor configured to determine the distance from the lidar system to the target based at least in part on a round-trip time of flight for an emitted pulse of light to travel from the lidar system to the target and back to the lidar system.