A laser system comprising two phase-locked solid-state laser sources is described. The laser system can be phase-locked at a predetermined offset between the operating frequencies of the lasers. This is achieved with high precision while exhibiting both low noise and high agility around the predetermined offset frequency. A pulse generator can be employed to generate a series of optical pulses from the laser system, the number, duration and shape of which can all be selected by a user. A phase-lock feedback loop provides a means for predetermined frequency chirps and phase shifts to be introduced throughout a sequence of generated pulses. The laser system can be made highly automated. The above features render the laser system ideally suited for use within coherent control two-state quantum systems, for example atomic interferometry, gyroscopes, precision gravimeters gravity gradiometers and quantum information processing and in particular the generation and control of quantum bits.

A laser for high power applications. The laser is a lamp driven slab design with a face to face beam propagation scheme and an end reflection that redirects the amplified radiation back out the same input surface. Also presented is a side to side larger amplifier configuration, permitting very high average and peak powers due to the electrical efficiency of absorbing energy into the crystal, optical extraction efficiency, and scalability of device architecture. Cavity filters adjacent to pump lamps convert the unusable UV portion of the pump lamp spectrum into light in the absorption band of the slab laser thereby increasing the overall pump efficiency. The angle of the end reflecting surface is changed to cause the exit beam to be at a different angle than the inlet beam, thereby eliminating the costly need to separate the beams external to the laser with the subsequent loss of power.

A method for operating a laser device, including providing a laser pulse in a resonator so that the laser pulse circulates in the resonator, the laser pulse having a carrier wave; determining an offset frequency (f.sub.0) of the frequency comb corresponding to the laser pulse, the frequency comb having a plurality of laser modes (f.sub.m) at a distance (f.sub.rep) from one another, the frequencies of which can be described by the formula: f.sub.m=m*f.sub.rep+f.sub.0, m being a natural number, and varying the offset frequency (f.sub.0) by varying a geometric phase () that is imparted to the carrier wave of the laser pulse per resonator circulation.

A laser processing system includes a wavelength tunable laser apparatus capable of changing the wavelength of pulsed laser light to be outputted, an optical system irradiating a workpiece with the pulsed laser light, a reference wavelength acquisition section acquiring a reference wavelength corresponding to photon absorption according to the material of the workpiece, a laser processing controller controlling the wavelength tunable laser apparatus to perform preprocessing before final processing performed on the workpiece, changes the wavelength of the pulsed laser light over a predetermined range containing the reference wavelength, and performs wavelength search preprocessing at a plurality of wavelengths, a processed state measurer measuring a processed state on a wavelength basis achieved by the wavelength search preprocessing performed at the plurality of wavelengths, and an optimum wavelength determination section assessing the processed state on a wavelength basis to determine an optimum wavelength used in the final processing.

A semiconductor laser diode is disclosed. In an embodiment a semiconductor laser diode includes a first resonator and a second resonator, the first and second resonators having parallel resonator directions along a longitudinal direction and being monolithically integrated into the semiconductor laser diode, wherein the first resonator includes at least a part of a semiconductor layer sequence having an active layer and an active region configured to be electrically pumped to generate a first light, wherein the longitudinal direction is parallel to a main extension plane of the active layer, and wherein the second resonator has an active region with a laser-active material configured to be optically pumped by at least a part of the first light to produce a second light which is partially emitted outwards from the second resonator.

A solid-state laser amplifier includes a core material providing an active gain medium. A cladding material is on the core material that is the same material as the core material that further comprises a broadband absorber material. The cladding material suppresses transverse oscillations in solid-state, single-crystal or ceramic laser amplifiers by employing a native-material, solid-state, index-matched cladding containing an appropriate broadband absorber.

A laser device for laser resonance ionization includes a wavelength variable grating-type titanium-doped sapphire laser and includes a titanium (Ti) doped titanium sapphire crystal disposed within a resonator. The titanium sapphire crystal is fixedly disposed on a stage. The titanium-doped sapphire crystal can be moved in the optical axis direction by the stage, thereby changing the position of the titanium-doped sapphire crystal. The switching between the wideband mode and the high-output mode can be performed by changing the position of the titanium-doped sapphire crystal.

An electro-optic modulator (EOM) for altering an optical path length of an optical field is described. The EOM comprises first and second Brewster-angle cut nonlinear crystals having a first and second optical axis. The optical axes are orientated relative to each other such that when an optical field propagates through the nonlinear crystals it experiences no overall deviation. The nonlinear crystals are also arranged to be opposite handed relative to the optical field. The EOM has the advantage that its optical losses are lower when compared with those EOMs known in the art. In addition, the EOM can be inserted into, or removed from, an optical system without any deviation being imparted onto the optical field. This reduces the levels of skill and effort required on the part of an operator. The described method and apparatus for mounting the nonlinear crystals also suppresses problematic piezo-electric resonances within the nonlinear crystals.

A light source for an imaging system. The light source includes a microresonator laser array having opposing mirrors arranged substantially parallel to one another. A laser gain medium is between the opposing mirrors. An array of microrefractive elements is arranged to stabilize the microresonator. A pump laser's output is shaped by a lens that directs it toward the micro-resonator laser array. An output lens directs a plurality of laser beams from the microresonator laser array to be incoherently combined at an object to be illuminated.

A method for producing a radiation field amplifying system for amplifying a to be amplified radiation field, in particular for producing a thin disc laser amplifying system, which comprises an amplifying element with a laser active body and a cooling system for cooling said amplifying element with at least one heat sink element wherein the method comprises the step of connecting said amplifying element and said at least one heat sink element is proposed by soldering with a solder filling composition, wherein the step of soldering comprises heating up, in particular melting, said solder filling composition by exposing said solder filling composition to a soldering radiation field.