A laser amplification device includes a laser oscillator that includes a first laser active medium including a mixed gas containing carbon dioxide gas and emits pulsed laser light with the full width at half maximum of between 15 ns to 200 ns, and a laser amplifier that includes a second laser active medium including a mixed gas containing carbon dioxide gas through which the pulsed laser light emitted from the laser oscillator passes to be shortened to pulsed laser light with the full width at half maximum of between 5 ns and 30 ns to be output.

A compact laser system with a folded annular resonator cavity defined by spherical mirrors (17, 18), enabling the generation of a multipass beam path between the mirrors, each beam pass inclined at a small angle to the axis between the mirrors to form a zig-zag path (28, 29) therebetween. A long optical path is achieved within a short physical structure. The optical resonator cavity is confined in the gap between two cylindrical coaxial electrodes (13, 14) receiving RF power to excite the lasing gas. Apertures (23) are provided in the main cavity mirrors (17, 18), with a high reflectivity end mirror (24) behind one aperture at one end and a partially reflective output coupler (25) at the other end. A channeled ceramic cylindrical element (15, 20) within the annular shaped gap between the two cylindrical electrodes confines the lasing gas to the channels (16).

Disclosed is a laser system including a first laser and a second laser. The first laser includes a laser cavity, and a gas phase molecular gain medium disposed in the laser cavity, the gain medium having an absorption band. The second laser is a solid state laser configured to be continuously tunable, with respect to an emission wavelength of the second laser, over the absorption band of the gain medium, and the second laser is tuned to pump rotational vibrational transitions in the gain medium to achieve a rotational population inversion.

A laser apparatus may include: a mirror configured to reflect a laser beam; an actuator configured to operate the mirror; and a controller configured to transmit a movement instruction to the actuator, wherein the controller predicts a movement completion time of the actuator, and transmits a polling signal so that the actuator receives the polling signal after expiration of the predicted movement completion time.

The present disclosure provides a method for aligning a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system. The method includes ramping up a pumping power input into a laser amplifier chain of the MOPA system until the pumping power input reaches an operational pumping power input level; adjusting a seed laser power output of a seed laser of the MOPA system until the seed laser power output is at a first level below an operational seed laser power output level; and performing a first optical alignment process to the MOPA system while the pumping power input is at the operational pumping power input level, the seed laser power output is at the first level, and the MOPA system reaches a steady operational thermal state.

The disclosed invention relates to an improved system and method for treatment of soft tissue, e.g., for treatment of a snoring condition. The system can include a laser source; a hand piece; and a device for directing radiation emitted by the laser source to a treatment area (e.g., an oral treatment area). In some cases, the handpiece can include an optical element (e.g., a lens) mounted within a replaceable cartridge and adapted to modulate a laser beam such that it is non-ablative, prior to its delivery to a treatment region. In various embodiments, the system includes a CO2 laser capable of performing treatment in a more efficient manner than conventional techniques.

A pulsed-discharge radiation source includes a gas chamber, a window, and a conduit system. The conduit system includes a refill path and a conduit. The pulsed-discharge radiation source generates radiation. The gas chamber confines a gas and contaminants produced during the generation of radiation. The window isolates the gas from an environment external to the gas chamber and allows the radiation to travel between the gas chamber and the environment. The refill path allows a replacement of the gas. The conduit circulates the gas to or from the gas chamber during the generating. The conduit system directs a flow of one of a refill gas, the gas, or the refill gas and the gas at least during a refill operation to prevent the contaminant from contacting the window, whereby the conduit system increases the usable lifetime of at least the window.

The disclosed invention relates to an improved system and method for treatment of soft tissue, e.g., for treatment of a snoring condition. The system can include a laser source; a hand piece; and a device for directing radiation emitted by the laser source to a treatment area (e.g., an oral treatment area). In some cases, the handpiece can include an optical element (e.g., a lens) mounted within a replaceable cartridge and adapted to modulate a laser beam such that it is non-ablative, prior to its delivery to a treatment region. In various embodiments, the system includes a CO2 laser capable of performing treatment in a more efficient manner than conventional techniques.

A Q-switched gas laser apparatus with bivariate pulse equalization includes a gas laser, a sensor, and an electronic circuit. A Q-switch that switches the laser resonator between high-loss and low-loss states to generate a pulsed laser beam. The sensor obtains a measurement of the pulsed laser beam indicative of the laser pulse energy. The electronic circuitry operates the Q-switch to (a) repeatedly switch the laser resonator between the high-loss and low-loss states to set a repetition rate of laser pulses of the pulsed laser beam, (b) adjust a loss level of the low-loss state, based on the pulse energy measurement, to achieve a target laser pulse energy, and (c) adjust a duration of the low-loss state to achieve a target laser pulse duration. By adjusting both pulse energy and duration, uniform pulse energy and, if desired, uniform pulse duration are achieved over a wide range of repetition rates.

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided for dual-pass amplification of laser beams along a common beam path. An example method can include generating a first laser beam and a second laser beam. Subsequently, the example method can include performing dual-pass amplification of the first laser beam and the second laser beam along a common beam path. In some aspects, the first laser beam can include a first wavelength, the second laser beam can include a second wavelength different from the first wavelength.