High-power, phased-locked, laser arrays

Abstract

High-power, phased-locked, laser arrays as disclosed herein utilize a system of optical elements that may be external to the laser oscillator array. Such an external optical system may achieve mutually coherent operation of all the emitters in a laser array, and coherent combination of the output of all the lasers in the array into a single beam. Such an “external gain harness” system may include: an optical lens/mirror system that mixes the output of all the emitters in the array; a holographic optical element that combines the output of all the lasers in the array, and an output coupler that selects a single path for the combined output and also selects a common operating frequency for all the coupled gain regions.

Claims

1. A system for producing mutually-coherent operation of a plurality of light emitters, each of the emitters outputting a respective power and brightness, the system comprising: an optical system that mixes respective beams received from each of the plurality of emitters; and a beam-combining element that forms at least one composite beam containing a respective contribution from each of the emitters, wherein a portion of the composite beam has a selected wavelength, wherein the composite beam is fed back in such a way that mutually coherent operation of the plurality of emitters is achieved such that the emitters phase with a phase difference that results in a coherent output beam from the system, and wherein mutually coherent operation of the plurality of emitters is achieved such that each of the emitters lases at the selected wavelength.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein a portion of the composite beam is fed back in such a way that each of the emitters receives narrowband light from every other emitter.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the coherent output beam has a brightness that is greater than the brightnesses of the individual emitters.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a wavelength-selective output coupler that receives the composite beam from the beam-combining element.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the wavelength-selective output coupler feeds back a portion of the composite beam.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the wavelength-selective output coupler feeds back the portion of the composite beam in such a way that each of the emitters receives narrowband light from every other emitter.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the portion of the composite beam is fed back through the beam-combining element.

8. A method for producing mutually-coherent operation of a plurality of light emitters, each of the emitters outputting a respective power and brightness, the method comprising: mixing respective beams received from each of the plurality of emitters; forming a composite beam containing a respective contribution from each of the emitters, and feeding back the composite beam in such a way that mutually coherent operation of the plurality of emitters is achieved such that the emitters lase with a phase difference that results in a coherent output beam from the system, wherein a portion of the composite beam has a selected wavelength, and wherein mutually coherent operation of the plurality of emitters is achieved such that each of the emitters lases at the selected wavelength.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein a portion of the composite beam is fed back in such a way that each of the emitters receives narrowband light from every other emitter.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the coherent output beam has a brightness that is greater than the brightnesses of the individual emitters.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein a wavelength-selective output coupler that receives the composite beam from a beam-combining element.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the wavelength-selective output coupler feeds back a portion of the composite beam.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the wavelength-selective output coupler feeds back the portion of the composite beam in such a way that each of the emitters receives narrowband light from every other emitter.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the portion of the composite beam is fed back through the beam-combining element.

15. A system for producing mutually-coherent operation of a plurality of light emitters, each of the emitters outputting a respective power and brightness, the system comprising: an optical system that mixes respective beams received from each of the plurality of emitters; and a beam-combining element that forms at least one composite beam containing a respective contribution from each of the emitters, and a wavelength-selective output coupler that receives the composite beam from the beam-combining element, wherein the wavelength-selective output coupler feeds back a portion of the composite beam in such a way that each of the emitters receives narrowband light from every other emitter, and wherein the composite beam is fed back in such a way that mutually coherent operation of the plurality of emitters is achieved such that the emitters lase with a phase difference that results in a coherent output beam from the system.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the coherent output beam has a brightness that is greater than the brightnesses of the individual emitters.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the portion of the composite beam is fed back through the beam-combining element.

18. A method for producing mutually-coherent operation of a plurality of light emitters, each of the emitters outputting a respective power and brightness, the method comprising: mixing respective beams received from each of the plurality of emitters; forming a composite beam containing a respective contribution from each of the emitters, and feeding back the composite beam in such a way that mutually coherent operation of the plurality of emitters is achieved such that the emitters lase with a phase difference that results in a coherent output beam from the system, wherein a wavelength-selective output coupler receives the composite beam from a beam-combining element, and the wavelength-selective output coupler feeds back a portion of the composite beam in such a way that each of the emitters receives narrowband light from every other emitter.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the coherent output beam has a brightness that is greater than the brightnesses of the individual emitters.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the portion of the composite beam is fed back through the beam-combining element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIGS. 1A and 1B depict a cavity with multiple gain paths phase-locked by use of a beam combining element (BCE), a path selector, and different types of output couplers.

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates the role of a wavelength-selective output coupler.

(3) FIGS. 3A and 3B depict laser cavities with phase locking of multiple-gain paths and different types of wavelength-selective, tunable output couplers.

(4) FIGS. 4A and 4B depict a gain harness laser with long-range coupling between the laser array elements.

(5) FIG. 5 provides a schematic of a test setup for inducing cross-element coherence of a laser diode bar.

(6) FIGS. 6A and 6B depict the results of a test on inducing cross-element coherence of a laser diode bar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

(7) FIGS. 1A and 1B depict example embodiments of systems and methods for achieving phase synchronization of multiple gain paths of a complex laser cavity. A composite resonator 100, as shown, may include an internal part 102, which may include those components that a typical laser cavity would have, and an external part 104, which may include additional components that enable phase synchronization of multiple gain paths in the laser cavity. The internal part 102 may include an array 120 of gain section resonators 121-125. Each gain section 121-125 may emit light, such as laser light, for example, along a respective optical path 131-135.

(8) In order to achieve the best phase-locking (i.e., coherence) between the several gain sections 121-125, it may be desirable that coupling, preferably equally-strong coupling, is achieved between each emitter 121-125 in the array 120 and every other emitter 121-125 in the array 120. In order to construct a complete laser cavity with the independent gain sections 121-125 of the array 120, a plurality 110 of highly reflective mirrors 111-115 may be disposed proximate a first end of the gain sections 121-125. The opposite ends of the gain section 121-125 may have partially reflective mirrors (not shown) or no mirrors at all (as shown).

(9) In order to achieve coupling between the individual gain sections 121-125, it may be desirable to mix the optical paths of the light beams 131-135 emitted by the gain sections 121-125. That is, the optical paths may be caused to overlap one another in space. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, this may be accomplished by a Fourier transform (FT) lens 140 disposed to receive the light beams 131-135 emitted by the individual gain sections 121-125. The lens 140 performs an optical Fourier transform on the received beams 131-135, forming transformed beams 141-145. Each of the transformed beams 141-145 corresponds to a respective one of the emitted beams 131-135. The FT lens 140 focuses the transformed beams 141-145 onto its back focal plane. The transformed beams 141-145 are thereby mixed, in a location 147 in the back focal plane of the lens 140.

(10) A beam combining element (BCE) 150 may be positioned in the back focal plane of the FT lens 140, and in the front focal plane of a second FT lens 160. The BCE 150 may be designed to split a single beam of light (e.g., beam 143) into a plurality of beams 151-155 in a controlled manner. The BCE may split each incident beam into the same number of beams as there are gain sections in the array 121-125. At least one of the beams 151-155 output from the BCE should be a composite of all the beams 141-145 and, therefore, representative of a composite of all the beams 131-135. The beams 151-155 are split out of the BCE in such a manner as to form a pattern 157 that corresponds to a spatial arrangement of the individual gain sections 121-125 of the system. That is, the pattern 157 represents how the emitters 121-125 are arranged relative to one another (e.g., the beams output from the BCE form an array that matches the array of beams output from the emitters).

(11) The BCE may be designed to be made by using the techniques of three-dimensional Bragg gratings (described elsewhere), using surface diffractive optical elements, or any other suitable technique. The BCE may be made of an optical material with high transparency, high durability, and high optical damage threshold.

(12) The second FT lens 160 performs an optical Fourier transformation on the beams 151-155 received from the BCE 150, forming re-transformed beams 161-165. At least one of the re-transformed beams 161-165 is a composite of all the beams 131-135. Accordingly, after the optical Fourier transform is performed by the second FT lens 160, a pattern 167 will appear that includes an image 170 of the array 120 of individual gain sections 121-125. The images 171-175 of all the individual gain sections 121-125 will overlap at least on one of the images of the exit apertures of the individual gain sections.

(13) A path selector 180 may be positioned after the second FT lens 160. The path selector 180 may define an aperture 182 that allows light from one of the optical paths 161-165 (e.g., optical path 164, as shown) through the path selector 180. The path selector may be made of a non-transparent material that is robust enough to withstand the exposure to light at the operating power of the system. Thus, the path selector 180 may restrict the feedback into the gain regions to come only from a path containing overlapping beams from all the gain sections in the array. Together with the BCE 150, the path selector 180 may force a particular phase state for the ensemble of phase-locked emitters that would produce constructive interference from all the emitters in the output of the system.

(14) An output coupler 190 may be positioned behind the path selector 180. The output coupler 180 may reflect back some or all of the light propagating along the optical path 164 selected by the path selector 180, thus completing the external portion 104 of the composite cavity 100. As shown in FIG. 1A, the output coupler 190 may include a three-dimensional, Bragg grating element 192, which may be formed of a three-dimensional, transparent material (e.g. glass, crystal, polymer) having a Bragg grating recorded therein. Such a Bragg grating element may have a spectrally-narrow reflectivity band that tends to restrict the number of longitudinal modes oscillating in the composite cavity 100 and, as a result, tends to achieve stable phase locking between the individual gain sections 121-125 of the array 120.

(15) The BCE 150 re-maps the light returned by the output coupler 190 (along the optical path 164 selected by the path selector 180) back onto the array 120 of gain sections 121-125. As an array 120 of individual gain sections 121-125 will have a fill factor of less than one (and very likely much less than one), it may be desirable that the light returned by the external part 104 of the composite cavity 100 does not fall in between the front emitting apertures of the individual gain sections 121-125. This may be accomplished by a properly-designed BCE 150 that insures minimal possible loss inside the composite cavity.

(16) The mixed and filtered output (reflected from the Bragg grating element along optical path 164) is thus fed back into each of the gain regions 121-125. Each of the gain regions 121-125 thus receives “seed” light from all the others (because the composite beam is fed back to each) with appropriate wavelength, selected by the output coupler, and phase, selected by the BCE and the path selector. When the returned light is filtered as described above, the feedback from all the gain sections 121-125 adds constructively at the front emitting apertures of the several gain regions 121-125 and, therefore, creates a relatively strong feedback capable of locking the laser array 120 into coherent operation. Thus, the Bragg grating element provides feedback for a single optical path of the BCE that forces coherent operation of all the emitters with a specific phase difference that will achieve constructive interference in that particular optical path.

(17) As shown in FIG. 1B, the output coupler 190 may include a bandpass filter 194 that allows a selected wavelength or band of light through to a mirror 196, which may be a phase-conjugate mirror or an ordinary mirror, for example. The mirror 196 reverses the phase of the light incident upon it. Such an output coupler may be used in conjunction with other wavelength-selective elements or band-pass filters such as, for example, optical etalons, Bragg gratings, diffraction gratings, etc.

(18) Note that, although FIGS. 1A and 1B depict five separate gain sections 121-125 arranged in a one-dimensional array 120, it should be understood that the techniques described herein apply, without restriction, to larger-sized one-dimensional and two-dimensional arrays of emitters.

(19) FIG. 2 illustrates the role of a wavelength-selective output coupler. The individual gain sections 121-125 of the emitter array 120 may have internal resonators formed by the highly reflective mirrors 111-115 near the respective back apertures of the gain sections 121-125 and partially reflective mirrors (not shown) near the respective front apertures of the gain sections 121-125. In general, each of the internal resonators may have a slightly different mode comb 221-225. When a wavelength-selective output coupler is used, it may restrict the number of internal resonator modes to a single mode or a few close modes, as shown by the dashed ellipse in FIG. 2, thus increasing the coherence between the light 131-135 emitted by the individual gain sections 121-125. Note that the lower the reflectivity of the partial reflector in the front part of the gain section (not shown), the wider will be the broadening of the modes within the mode comb of the internal resonators. This may facilitate better phase locking of the individual gain sections 121-125.

(20) FIG. 3A depicts a tunable, wavelength-selective output coupler 190 using a transmissive Bragg grating element 192. If wavelength tuning is desired in an array 120 of coherent emitters 121-125, it can be accomplished via angular adjustment of the transmissive Bragg grating element 192. Adjusting the angle of incidence a of light onto a transmissive Bragg grating 194 changes the Bragg matching condition and, therefore, changes the wavelength for which maximum diffraction efficiency is achieved. Thus, the Bragg grating element 192 can provide wavelength-selective feedback for a single optical path 164 of the BCE 150 that forces coherent operation of all the emitters 121-125 with a specific phase difference that will achieve constructive interference in that particular optical path 164.

(21) As shown in FIG. 3B, a diffraction grating 196 can be used in well-known Littrow (as shown in FIG. 3B), Littman-Metcalf, or other configurations, in order to provide wavelength-selective feedback back into the emitters.

(22) As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the light 131-135 emitted by the individual gain sections 121-125 is mixed in the back focal plane of the first FT lens 140, where a BCE 150 is positioned. The BCE 150 mixes the optical paths 141-145 of all of the gain sections 121-125. A second FT lens 160 may be used in order to produce mixed images 171-175 of the individual gain sections 121-125 in its back focal plane. A path selector 180 may be positioned in the back focal plane of the second FT lens 160. The path selector 180 selects a single common optical path 164 for all light-emitting sections. A transmissive Bragg grating element 192 diffracts the mixed light at a certain diffraction angle 3 according to particular design conditions. A partially or fully reflective output coupler 194 is positioned in the path of the diffracted beam 193. The output coupler 194 reflects the light incident upon it hack on its path 164, thus completing the external part 104 of the composite resonator 100. Wavelength tuning is achieved by adjusting the angle α between the Bragg grating element 192 and the beam incident upon it.

(23) Similarly, as shown in FIG. 3B, a diffraction grating 196 can be rotated, which adjusts the wavelength of the light returned onto the emitters. Thus, the diffraction grating 196 can be used as a wavelength-selective element that can achieve wavelength tuning via adjustment of the incident angle δ. The diffraction grating 196 may be reflective, as shown in FIG. 3B, or transmissive. It may be a surface diffraction grating or a volume holographic grating. The diffraction grating 196 can be manufactured by any of a number of techniques, such as, for example, surface ruling, holographic techniques, etching, etc. The wavelength-selective feedback may be produced in the 1.sup.st or higher diffraction order of the diffraction grating, and the output of the system may be produced in the 0.sup.th order of the diffraction grating.

(24) FIGS. 4A and 4B depict a gain harness laser (GHL) 400 with long-range coupling between the laser array elements 421-425. The GHL 400 may include an array 420 of individual gain sections/emitters 421-425, which may be an array 420 of laser diodes. It may also include a Fourier transform (FT) lens 430, a BCE 440, a path selector 450, and a wavelength-selecting element 460, such as a three-dimensional Bragg grating element (as shown in FIG. 4A) or a diffraction grating (as shown in FIG. 4B) as an output coupler. The FT lens 430 collimates and overlaps the outputs of the individual emitters 121-125 in a certain location in space. The BCE 440 may be positioned in that location and receives the focused optical paths 421-425. The BCE 440 mixes the focused optical paths 431-435 of all of the gain sections 421-425 into a common path. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a path selector 450 is positioned behind the BCE 440, without the use of a second FT lens (as described above). The light allowed through the path selector 450 is reflected back by a three-dimensional Bragg grating (as shown in FIG. 4A) or a diffraction grating (as shown in FIG. 4B) that serves as a wavelength-selective output coupler 460 due to its narrow reflectivity spectrum. The diffraction grating may be reflective, as shown in FIG. 4B, or transmissive. It may be a surface diffraction grating or a volume holographic grating. The diffraction grating can be manufactured by any of a number of techniques, such as, for example, surface ruling, holographic techniques, etching, etc. It may be used in any well-known arrangements, such as Littrow, Littman-Metcalf, or any other suitable configuration.

(25) FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a test setup 500 for inducing cross-element coherence of a laser diode bar using a Talbot cavity. As shown, the test setup 500 may include an array 520 of individual gain sections/emitters 521-525, a collimating lens 530 or lens array, and a three-dimensional Bragg grating element 540 that reflects some of the light back into the individual emitters 521-525.

(26) An experiment was conducted using the test setup shown in FIG. 5. The Bragg grating element 540 was positioned at a particular distance from the face of the laser diode bar 520 so that, upon reflection from the Bragg grating element 540, the diffraction pattern on the face of the laser diode bar 520 would repeat or nearly repeat the arrangement of the emitters 521-525 and, therefore, maximize the coupling in the composite cavity. A Fourier-transform lens 550 was used to produce the far field pattern of the array, which was observed on a screen 560. If coherence between the emitters 521-525 in the laser diode array 520 is achieved, the far field pattern will show clear signs of coherent interference (i.e., fringes).

(27) FIGS. 6A and 6B provide far field patterns observed during the experiment. FIG. 6A provides a far field pattern for a situation wherein the Bragg grating element 540 is aligned to reflect the incident light back on its path. FIG. 6B provides a far field pattern for a situation wherein the Bragg grating element 540 is mis-aligned and, therefore, does not reflect the incident light back on its path. The results show an apparently stable interference pattern in the far field of the laser diode array 520, which is only possible if there exists a constant and stable phase difference between the modes of the several emitters 521-525 in the array 520. If the phase difference between the individual emitters 521-525 in the array 520 is not constant, then the interference pattern loses it stability and visibility (i.e., no periodic dark fringes are observed).

(28) It should be understood that the systems and methods described and claimed herein may be applied to, among other things: apparatus and methods using reflective and transmissive holographic Bragg grating elements as a feedback element to achieve coherence; systems using coherently combined laser arrays that use Bragg grating elements; systems that perform spectral beam combining of the coherently combined laser arrays using Bragg grating elements; coherently combined systems using Bragg grating elements as wavelength selector that are used for second harmonic generators or optical parameteric oscillators or parameteric amplification; coherent combining of laser diodes, solid-state lasers, fiber lasers, gas lasers, ion lasers, alkali vapor lasers, and the like; coherent combining of lasers with TEM.sub.00 output; coherent combining of lasers with multi-mode output; and using phase conjugate mirrors for coherent beam combining.

(29) The advantages of laser systems constructed according to the approaches described herein can be exploited in any application that benefits from laser sources with increased brightness and power. Such applications include, but are not limited to, laser pump sources, direct material processing, military applications (e.g., directed energy weapons, target designators, laser range finders, etc.), laser radars, optical communications, spectroscopy (including differential absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, different other nonlinear spectroscopy techniques), medical applications (e.g., therapeutic, surgical, diagnostic, etc.), remote sensing, security applications, etc.