A narrowed-line gas laser apparatus includes a laser chamber that accommodates a pair of electrodes disposed so as to face each other, an output coupling mirror, and a line narrowing apparatus that forms an optical resonator along with the output coupling mirror, the line narrowing apparatus including an optical system having a first region and a second region on which a first portion and a second portion of a light beam that exits out of the laser chamber are incident, the first and second portions passing through different positions in a direction in which the pair of electrodes face each other, the optical system being configured to suppress an increase in the distance between the optical path axis of the first portion and the optical path axis of the second portion.

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 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.

The present invention describes a solid-state laser device based on a twisted-mode cavity and a volume grating, which comprises: a pumping source for emitting pump light; an optical resonator, which comprises: a cavity mirror, which is a high reflective mirror for introducing the pump light into the optical resonator; an output coupler, which is a reflective volume Bragg grating spaced away from the cavity mirror; a twisted-mode cavity, which includes: a first wave plate, located at one side close to the pumping source; a second wave plate, located at another side far away from the pumping source; a gain medium, located between the first wave plate and the second wave plate for generating a fundamental frequency laser; a focusing unit, located between the pumping source and the optical resonator for focusing the pump light emitting from the pumping source to the optical resonator.

A multispectral beam combiner includes a prism body having an output surface, a fiber entry block attached to the prism body, and a plurality of input fibers attached to the fiber entry block. Each of the plurality of input fibers is operable to support a different wavelength. The multispectral beam combiner also includes a collimator attached to the prism body. The collimator is operable to reflect and collimate light propagating from the fiber entry block. The multispectral beam combiner further includes an immersion grating operable to diffract light propagating from the collimator. The output surface of the prism body is operable to pass light propagating from the immersion grating.

A system for frequency conversion of laser pump radiation includes an optical element for frequency conversion of lasers or laser beams with power scalability. The element has a nonlinear birefringent, thin plate crystal. A pump beam generates frequency-shifted radiation. Phase or quasi-phase matching conditions are in the crystal between beams. Frontside and backside of the crystal have high-reflective and partially-reflective coatings, obtaining intensity enhancement of the pump and frequency-converted radiation, and maintaining relative phase delay between beams, maximizing conversion efficiency. The crystal contacts a heat sink through the high-reflective coating, minimizing temperature inhomogeneity in the crystal. Intrinsic longitudinal heat flow provides power scalability. The element, used intra-cavity, acts as a wavelength-selective component forcing laser operation on resonance of the element, maximizing frequency conversion. The wavelength selectivity allows single-frequency operation of high-power lasers with intra-cavity frequency conversion.

A line narrowing module to line-narrow pulse laser light having a wavelength in an ultraviolet range includes a grating reflecting pulse laser light incident thereon, and an expansion optical system including prisms and causing the pulse laser light to be incident on the grating while expanding a beam width of the pulse laser light. In the expansion optical system, a first closest prism which is closest to the grating and a second closest prism which is second closest to the grating have temperature coefficients of refractive indices opposite in sign to each other, and an amount of change of an optical path length difference between a case in which a temperature difference in the second closest prism is 0.2 C. or less and a case in which the temperature difference is 0.5 C. or more and 10 C. or less is half or less of the wavelength of the pulse laser light.