In various embodiments, cold-start times and performance of wavelength-beam-combining laser resonators are improved via adjustment of the operating wavelengths and/or temperature of beam emitters within the resonators.

A spectral beam combining system includes a plurality of input fibers and a prism having a curved input surface. The plurality of input fibers are attached to the curved input surface. The spectral beam combining system also includes an immersion grating defined on a second surface of the prism, a protective cap disposed over the immersion grating, and an output surface.

A line narrowing module includes a prism that refracts laser light in a first plane, a grating that disperses the laser light in the first plane, first to fourth elements, and a rotation mechanism and narrows the linewidth of the laser light. The second element is supported between the first and fourth elements by the first element. The rotation mechanism rotates the second element relative to the first element around an axis intersecting the first plane. The prism is located between the second and fourth elements and so supported by the second element that the rotation mechanism rotates the prism and the second element. The third element has elasticity and is compressed and located between the prism and the fourth element. The fourth element receives reaction force from the compressed third element. The second element is mechanically independent of the fourth element in the rotational direction of the rotation mechanism.

An optical assembly provides dispersion control, modelocking, spectral filtering, and/or the like in a laser cavity. For example, the optical assembly may comprise a diffraction grating pair arranged to temporally and spatially disperse a beam on a forward pass through the optical assembly, a reflective device at an end of the optical assembly, and a focusing optic arranged to create a beam waist at the reflective device. The beam waist created at the reflective device may cause the beam to be inverted on a reverse pass through the optical assembly, and a temporal dispersion and a spatial dispersion of the beam may be doubled on the reverse pass through the optical assembly to form a temporally and spatially dispersed output from the optical assembly.

A pulse stretching fiber oscillator (or laser cavity) may comprise a chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG) and an optical circulator arranged such that a first portion of a beam that is transmitted through the CFBG continues to propagate through the laser cavity while a second portion of the beam that is reflected from the CFBG is stretched and chirped by the CFBG and directed out of the laser cavity by the optical circulator. Accordingly, a configuration of the CFBG and the optical circulator in the laser cavity may enable pulse stretching contemporaneous with outcoupling, which may prevent deleterious nonlinear phase from accumulating prior to stretching.

A femtosecond laser system for ophthalmic applications, which employs a number of chirped mirrors in the laser beam delivery system between the laser head and the objective lens. The chirped mirrors perform the dual function of both turning the laser beam in desired directions and compensating for beam broadening due to group delay dispersion (GDD) of the optical elements of the system. Each chirped mirror reflects the laser beam only once. Four chirped mirrors are used, each providing up to 5000 fs.sup.2 of negative GDD per bounce, to provide a total of 18,000 fs.sup.2 negative GDD to compensate for the positive GDD of +18,000 fs.sup.2 introduced by other optical elements in the laser beam delivery system. This eliminates the need for a pulse compressor that would employ a grating pair, prism pair or grism pair, and therefore significantly reduces the size of the system and the alignment requirements.

A system and method for tuning and infrared source laser in the Mid-IR wavelength range. The system and method comprising, at least, a plurality of individually tunable emitters, each emitter emitting a beam having a unique wavelength, a grating, a mirror positioned after the grating to receive at least one refracted order of light of at least one beam and to redirect the beam back towards the grating, and a micro-electro-mechanical systems device containing a plurality of adjustable micro-mirrors.

A laser apparatus includes first and second wavelength dispersion elements, an optical element, first and second actuators, and a control unit. The first wavelength dispersion element generates wavelength dispersion in a direction orthogonal to an electric discharge direction between a pair of electric discharge electrodes. The second wavelength dispersion element generates wavelength dispersion in a direction parallel to the electric discharge direction. The optical element corrects wavelength dispersion generated by the second wavelength dispersion element. The first actuator drives the first wavelength dispersion element. The second actuator drives the optical element. The control unit controls the first actuator so that the center wavelength of the laser light approaches to a target wavelength and controls the second actuator so as to correct the wavelength dispersion generated by the second wavelength dispersion element.

A spectral beam combining system includes a plurality of input fibers and a prism having a curved input surface. The plurality of input fibers are attached to the curved input surface. The spectral beam combining system also includes an immersion grating defined on a second surface of the prism, a protective cap disposed over the immersion grating, and an output surface.

A system and method for tuning and infrared source laser in the Mid-IR wavelength range. The system and method comprising, at least, a plurality of individually tunable emitters, each emitter emitting a beam having a unique wavelength, a grating, a mirror positioned after the grating to receive at least one refracted order of light of at least one beam and to redirect the beam back towards the grating, and a micro-electro-mechanical systems device containing a plurality of adjustable micro-mirrors.