Provided herein are systems and methods of manufacture and operation for a compact laser to achieve high-intensity output pulses. These compact laser resonators and methods rely upon separate and distinct functions of the laser resonator to be operated in balance such that the functions, while deleterious when separate are supportive of laser generation and growth when combined within a small volume laser resonator as described herein. The combined elements of the described laser resonator include a delicate balance that allows the laser to operate between plane-parallel operation and unstable operation. This operation mode further allows distinct methods of construction and operation that allow the compact laser to be reliably assembled and tested during assembly. Therefore, despite requiring a delicate balance of disparate elements, the described laser resonator results in a compact robust laser.

A mode-locked solid state laser apparatus including an optical film, a gain medium crystal, a Fabry-Perot element, a first mirror, a second mirror, a third mirror and an output coupler is disclosed. The optical film is configured to receive a pumping light having a first wavelength incident in a first direction. The gain medium crystal receives the pumping light passing the optical film, and generates an initial laser beam having a second wavelength, wherein the initial laser beam forms a first optical path starting at one end thereof from the gain medium crystal. The Fabry-Perot element is disposed on the other end of the first optical path opposite to the one end, and reflects the initial laser beam along a second optical path having one end thereof starting from the Fabry-Perot element. The first mirror is disposed on the other end of the second optical path opposite to the one end of the second optical path, and reflects the initial laser beam along a third optical path having one end thereof starting from the first mirror.

Provided herein are systems and methods of manufacture and operation for a compact laser to achieve high-intensity output pulses. These compact laser resonators and methods rely upon separate and distinct functions of the laser resonator to be operated in balance such that the functions, while deleterious when separate are supportive of laser generation and growth when combined within a small volume laser resonator as described herein. The combined elements of the described laser resonator include a delicate balance that allows the laser to operate between plane-parallel operation and unstable operation. This operation mode further allows distinct methods of construction and operation that allow the compact laser to be reliably assembled and tested during assembly. Therefore, despite requiring a delicate balance of disparate elements, the described laser resonator results in a compact robust laser.

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.

Apparatus and methods for producing ultrashort optical pulses are described. A high-power, solid-state, passively mode-locked laser can be manufactured in a compact module that can be incorporated into a portable instrument for biological or chemical analyses. The pulsed laser may produce sub-100-ps optical pulses at a repetition rate commensurate with electronic data-acquisition rates. The optical pulses may excite samples in reaction chambers of the instrument, and be used to generate a reference clock for operating signal-acquisition and signal-processing electronics of the instrument.

The present disclosure provides an optical sub-system for a passive, mode-locked laser optical system. The optical sub-system may include a graphene-based saturable absorber and an optical device configured to control dispersion properties of the laser optical system. The graphene-based saturable absorber may be supported by the optical device.

Apparatus and methods for producing ultrashort optical pulses are described. A high-power, solid-state, passively mode-locked laser can be manufactured in a compact module that can be incorporated into a portable instrument for biological or chemical analyses. The pulsed laser may produce sub-100-ps optical pulses at a repetition rate commensurate with electronic data-acquisition rates. The optical pulses may excite samples in reaction chambers of the instrument, and be used to generate a reference clock for operating signal-acquisition and signal-processing electronics of the instrument.

An intra-cavity frequency-tripled OPS laser has a laser-resonator including two optically nonlinear crystals arranged for type-I frequency conversion. One of the crystals generates horizontally polarized second-harmonic radiation from vertically plane-polarized fundamental-wavelength radiation circulating in the laser-resonator. A birefringent filter is located between the optically nonlinear crystals. The birefringent filter selects the fundamental-wavelength, establishes the vertical polarization-orientation, and selectively rotates the polarization-orientation of the second-harmonic radiation from horizontal to vertical. The vertically polarized fundamental and second-harmonic radiations are type-I sum-frequency mixed by the other optically nonlinear crystal.

An intra-cavity frequency-tripled OPS laser has a laser-resonator including two optically nonlinear crystals arranged for type-I frequency conversion. One of the crystals generates horizontally polarized second-harmonic radiation from vertically plane-polarized fundamental-wavelength radiation circulating in the laser-resonator. A birefringent filter is located between the optically nonlinear crystals. The birefringent filter selects the fundamental-wavelength, establishes the vertical polarization-orientation, and selectively rotates the polarization-orientation of the second-harmonic radiation from horizontal to vertical. The vertically polarized fundamental and second-harmonic radiations are type-I sum-frequency mixed by the other optically nonlinear crystal.

Provided herein are systems and methods of manufacture and operation for a compact laser to achieve high-intensity output pulses. These compact laser resonators and methods rely upon separate and distinct functions of the laser resonator to be operated in balance such that the functions, while deleterious when separate are supportive of laser generation and growth when combined within a small volume laser resonator as described herein. The combined elements of the described laser resonator include a delicate balance that allows the laser to operate between plane-parallel operation and unstable operation. This operation mode further allows distinct methods of construction and operation that allow the compact laser to be reliably assembled and tested during assembly. Therefore, despite requiring a delicate balance of disparate elements, the described laser resonator results in a compact robust laser.