Apparatus and method of high power nanosecond mode-locked solid state laser
11211771 · 2021-12-28
Assignee
Inventors
- Yung-Fu Chen (Hsinchu, TW)
- Hsing-Chih Liang (Hsinchu, TW)
- Tzu-Lin Huang (Hsinchu, TW)
- Shu-Ching Li (Hsinchu, TW)
- Chia-Han Tsou (Hsinchu, TW)
Cpc classification
H01S3/08027
ELECTRICITY
H01S5/0206
ELECTRICITY
H01S5/0071
ELECTRICITY
H01S3/1118
ELECTRICITY
H01S5/065
ELECTRICITY
H01S3/0621
ELECTRICITY
International classification
H01S5/065
ELECTRICITY
H01S5/02
ELECTRICITY
Abstract
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.
Claims
1. A mode-locked solid state laser apparatus, comprising: an optical film receiving a pumping light having a first wavelength incident in a first direction; a gain medium crystal receiving the pumping light passing the optical film, and generating 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; a Fabry-Perot element, disposed on the other end of the first optical path opposite to the one end, and reflecting the initial laser beam along a second optical path having one end thereof starting from the Fabry-Perot element; a first mirror, disposed on the other end of the second optical path opposite to the one end of the second optical path, and reflecting the initial laser beam along a third optical path having one end thereof starting from the first mirror; a second mirror, disposed on the other end of the third optical path opposite to the one end of the third optical path, and reflecting the initial laser beam along a fourth optical path having one end thereof starting from the second mirror; a third mirror disposed on the other end of the fourth optical path opposite to the one end of the fourth optical path, and reflecting the initial laser beam along a fifth optical path having one end thereof starting from the third mirror; and an output coupler disposed on the other end of the fifth optical path opposite to the one end of the fifth optical path, and reflecting the initial laser beam back to the third mirror along the fifth optical path, wherein: the optical film has a first relatively high transmittance for a light at the first wavelength and a first relatively high reflectivity for a light at the second wavelength; the Fabry-Perot element includes a first surface and a second surface parallel to the first surface, wherein the first surface is closer to the first mirror when compared to the second surface and has a second relatively high transmittance, and the second surface has a second relatively high reflectivity; and the output coupler has an initial transmittance, and on a condition when an intensity of the initial laser beam reaches a threshold value, the output coupler has a third relatively high transmittance and allows an output laser pulse to emit out of the laser apparatus.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gain medium crystal includes a neodymium-doped vanadate.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical film is disposed on the gain medium crystal.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output coupler is formed of a multi-layered thin-film stack on a semiconductor substrate.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first mirror is a concave mirror.
6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second mirror is a concave mirror.
7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second surfaces have a thickness therebetween, and the output laser pulse has a pulse width having a linear correlation with the thickness.
8. A mode-locked solid state laser apparatus, comprising: an optical film receiving a pumping light having a first wavelength incident in a first direction; a gain medium crystal receiving the pumping light passing the optical film, and generating 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; a concave mirror, disposed on the other end of the first optical path opposite to the one end of the first optical path, and reflecting the initial laser beam along a second optical path starting at one end thereof from the concave mirror, a Fabry-Perot element, disposed on the other end of the second optical path opposite to the one end thereof, and reflecting the initial laser beam back to the concave mirror so as to reflect the initial laser beam by the concave mirror along a third optical path starting at one end thereof from the concave mirror, wherein the Fabry-Perot element includes a first surface and a second surface parallel to the first surface, and the first surface is closer to the concave mirror when compared to the second surface; and an output coupler disposed on the other end of the third optical path opposite to the one end thereof, and reflecting the initial laser beam back to the concave mirror along the third optical path.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the optical film has a first relatively high transmittance for a light at the first wavelength and a first relatively high reflectivity for a light at the second wavelength.
10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the first surface faces towards the concave mirror and has a second relatively high transmittance, and the second surface has a second relatively high reflectivity.
11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the output coupler has an initial transmittance, and on a condition when an intensity of the initial laser beam reaches a threshold value, the output coupler has a third relatively high transmittance and releases an output laser pulse.
12. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the gain medium crystal includes a neodymium-doped vanadate.
13. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the optical film is disposed on the gain medium crystal.
14. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the output coupler is formed of a multi-layered thin-film stack on a semiconductor substrate.
15. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first and the second surfaces have a thickness therebetween, and the output laser pulse has a pulse width having a linear correlation with the thickness.
16. A method for adjusting a pulse width of a solid-state laser pulse, comprising steps of: providing a solid state laser device, including: an optical film receiving a pumping light having a first wavelength incident in a first direction; a gain medium crystal receiving the pumping light passing the optical film, and generating 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; a concave mirror, disposed on the other end of the first optical path opposite to the one end thereof, and reflecting the initial laser beam along a second optical path starting at one end thereof from the concave mirror, a Fabry-Perot element, disposed on the other end of the second optical path opposite to the one end thereof, and reflecting the initial laser beam back to the concave mirror so as to reflect the initial laser beam by the concave mirror along a third optical path starting at one end thereof from the concave mirror, wherein the Fabry-Perot element includes a first surface and a second surface parallel to the first surface, and a thickness is defined between the first and the second surfaces, wherein the first surface is closer to the concave mirror when compared to the second surface and has a first relatively high transmittance, and the second surface has a first relatively high reflectivity; and an output coupler disposed on the other end of the third optical path opposite to the one end thereof, and releasing the solid-state laser pulse having the pulse width; and controlling the thickness to adjust the pulse width.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the optical film has a second relatively high transmittance for a light at the first wavelength.
18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the optical film has a second relatively high reflectivity for a light at the second wavelength.
19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising a step of disposing the optical film on the gain medium crystal.
20. The method according to claim 16, wherein the output coupler is formed of a multi-layered thin-film stack on a semiconductor substrate.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
(8) The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for the purposes of illustration and description only; they are not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed.
(9) Please refer to
(10) The optical gain medium crystal 12 comprises a neodymium doped vanadate (for example, Nd:YVO4), which can absorb the energy of the pumping light L.sub.pump via the dopant to release an initial laser beam L.sub.ini with a wavelength of about 1064 nm. As shown in
(11) The Fabry-Perot element 110 is disposed on the other end of the first optical path 101 opposite to the one end, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a second optical path 102 having one end thereof starting from the Fabry-Perot element 110. The present invention uses a reflected Fabry-Perot element 110 having a first surface 111 and a second surface 113 that are parallel to each other. The first surface 111 has high transmittance or low reflectivity (e.g., reflectivity less than 0.5% or even less than 0.2%) for lights with a wavelength of about 1064 nm, allowing most of the initial laser beam L.sub.ini to penetrate, while the second surface 113 has high reflectivity (e.g., having a reflectivity greater than 99.8%). The distance between the first surface 111 and the second surface 113 is the thickness t of the Fabry-Perot element 110. In the relative position, the first surface 111 is closer to the first mirror 120 when compared to the second surface 113, and is also closer to the light source of the incident initial laser beam L.sub.ini which is the optical gain medium crystal 12 when compared to the second surface 113, such that the initial laser beam L.sub.ini is repeatedly passed through the first surface 111 and reflected by the second surface 113 to generate an effect of Fabry-Perot interference.
(12) The first mirror 120 is disposed on the other end of the second optical path 102 opposite to the one end of the second optical path 102, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a third optical path 103 having one end thereof starting from the first mirror 120. The second mirror 130 is disposed on the other end of the third optical path 103 opposite to the one end of the third optical path 103, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a fourth optical path 104 having one end thereof starting from the second mirror 130. The third mirror 140 is disposed on the other end of the fourth optical path 104 opposite to the one end of the fourth optical path 104, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a fifth optical path 105 having one end thereof starting from the third mirror 140. Basically, the combination of the first mirror 120, the second mirror 130 and the third mirror 140 can be adjusted according to the need so as to achieve a required total length of optical path.
(13) The output coupler 15 is disposed on the other end of the fifth optical path 105 opposite to the one end of the fifth optical path 105, and may be formed of a multilayer thin film stack 151 (for example, 10 layers of aluminum arsenide or gallium arsenide film) disposed on the surface of a transparent semiconductor substrate 153 (for example, a gallium arsenide substrate). When the initial laser beam L.sub.ini is under a lower power condition, the multilayer thin film stack 151 of the output coupler 15 has high reflectivity (for example, a reflectivity of about 96.3%), and the initial laser beam L.sub.ini is reflected back along the fifth light path 105 in the reverse direction to the third mirror 140.
(14) Due to the reversibility of the optical path, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the initial laser beam L.sub.ini may return to the first optical path 101 from the fifth optical path 105 in the opposite direction and eventually arrive at the surface 121 of the optical gain medium crystal 12 with the optical film 11 disposed thereon. The optical film 11 has high reflectivity (for example, a reflectivity of at least 99.8% or higher) in a direction facing the optical gain medium crystal 12, that is, in a direction facing the first optical path 101 for an incident light having a wavelength of about 1064 nm. The initial laser beam L.sub.ini can return in the opposite direction along the first optical path 101 all the way to the other end of the fifth optical path 105, that is, the location of the output coupler 15.
(15) The configuration described in the preceding paragraph forms a resonant cavity for the initial laser beam L.sub.ini. When the sum of the path lengths of the first to fifth optical paths 101-105 is a multiple of a half wavelength ½ λ, of the initial laser beam L.sub.ini, the initial laser beam L.sub.ini will form a standing wave and continue to reciprocate between the optical film 11 and the output coupler 15, and the power of the initial laser beam L.sub.ini will be increased as the pumping light L.sub.pump being continuously transmitted into the optical gain crystal 12. For example, when the total light path length is 1 meter, a light beam having wavelengths of about 1064 nm can form a standing wave with at least, for example, 1063.9950 nm, 1063.9956 nm, 1063.9962 nm, 1063.9968 nm, 1063.9973 nm, 1063.9978 nm, 1063.9984 nm, 1063.9990 nm, 1063.9996 nm, 1064.0002 nm, 1064.0007 nm, 1064.0012 nm, 1064.0018 nm, 1064.0024 nm, 1064.0030 nm, 1064.0035 nm, 1064.0041 nm, 1064.0046 nm, 1064.0052 nm and so on, wherein each of which can represent a resonant mode. In practice, taking the resonant cavity 10 shown in
(16) Referring again to
(17) Please refer to
(18) The initial laser beam L.sub.ini is projected in the direction along the first light path 201 starting from the surface 121 of the optical gain medium crystal 12 near the optical film 11. The Fabry-Perot element 110 is disposed on the other end of the first optical path 201 opposite to the one end, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a second optical path 202 having one end thereof starting from the Fabry-Perot element 110. The first mirror 220 is disposed on the other end of the second optical path 202 opposite to the one end of the second optical path 202, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a third optical path 203 having one end thereof starting from the first mirror 220. The second mirror 230 is disposed on the other end of the third optical path 203 opposite to the one end of the third optical path 203, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a fourth optical path 204 having one end thereof starting from the second mirror 230 back to the first mirror 220. The first mirror is disposed at the other end of the fourth optical path 204 opposite to the one end of the fourth optical path 204, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a fifth optical path 205 having one end thereof starting from the first mirror 220 and the other end at the second mirror 230. The second mirror 230 reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a sixth optical path 206 having one end thereof starting from the second mirror 230. The third mirror 240 is disposed on the other end of the sixth optical path 206 opposite to the one end of the sixth optical path 206, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a seventh optical path 207 having one end thereof starting from the third mirror 240.
(19) The output coupler 15 is disposed on the other end of the seventh optical path 207 opposite to the one end of the seventh optical path 207. When the initial laser beam L.sub.ini is under a lower power condition, the multilayer thin film stack 151 of the output coupler 15 has high reflectivity (for example, a reflectivity of about 96.3%), and the initial laser beam L.sub.ini is reflected back along the seventh light path 207 in the reverse direction to the third mirror 240. On the other hand, when the intensity of the initial laser beam L.sub.ini reaches a threshold, the multilayer thin film stack 151 of the output coupler 15 will exhibit a high transmittance (e.g., a reflectivity of less than 5% or even less than 2%) and thereby transmits a laser pulse L.sub.exit out of the solid state laser apparatus 200.
(20) In the embodiment as shown in
(21) In the embodiments shown in
(22) The optical film 11 is disposed on a surface 121 of the optical gain medium crystal 12 facing the X direction, and receives the pumping light L.sub.pump incident in the X direction. The optical film 11 has high transmittance to incident lights, and allows the pumping light L.sub.pump to enter the inside of the optical gain medium crystal 12 for generating an initial laser beam L.sub.ini. The initial laser beam is projected along a first optical path 301 starting at one end thereof from the surface 121 of the optical gain medium crystal 12 near the optical film 11. The concave mirror 320 is disposed on the other end of the first optical path 301 opposite to the one end of the first optical path 301, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini along a second optical path 302 starting at one end thereof from the concave mirror 320. The Fabry-Perot element 110 is disposed on the other end of the second optical path 302 opposite to the one end thereof, and reflects the initial laser beam L.sub.ini back to the concave mirror 320 along a third optical path 303 so as to have the initial laser beam L.sub.ini reflected by the concave mirror 320 along a fourth optical path 304 starting at one end thereof from the concave mirror 320.
(23) The output coupler 15 is disposed on the other end of the fourth optical path 304 opposite to the one end of the fourth optical path 304, and may be formed of a multilayer thin film stack 151 (for example, 10 layers of aluminum arsenide or gallium arsenide film) disposed on the surface of a transparent semiconductor substrate 153 (for example, a gallium arsenide substrate). When the initial laser beam L.sub.ini is under a lower power condition, the multilayer thin film stack 151 of the output coupler 15 has high reflectivity (for example, a reflectivity of about 96.3%), and the initial laser beam L.sub.ini is reflected back along the fourth light path 304 in the reverse direction to the concave mirror 320. On the other hand, when the intensity of the initial laser beam L.sub.ini reaches a threshold, the multilayer thin film stack 151 of the output coupler 15 will exhibit a high transmittance (e.g., a reflectivity of less than 5% or even less than 2%) and thereby transmits a laser pulse L.sub.exit out of the solid state laser apparatus 300.
(24) The Fabry-Perot element 110 has a first surface 111 and a second surface 113 that are parallel to each other. The first surface 111 has high transmittance or low reflectivity (e.g., reflectivity less than 0.5% or even less than 0.2%) for lights with a wavelength of about 1064 nm, allowing most of the initial laser beam L.sub.ini to penetrate, while the second surface 113 has high reflectivity (e.g., having a reflectivity greater than 99.8%). The distance between the first surface 111 and the second surface 113 is the thickness t of the Fabry-Perot element 110. In the relative position, the first surface 111 is closer to the concave mirror 320 when compared to the second surface 113, such that the initial laser beam L.sub.ini is repeatedly passed through the first surface 111 and reflected by the second surface 113 to generate an effect of Fabry-Perot interference. In the embodiments shown in
(25) Please refer to
(26) Please refer to
(27) Please refer to
(28) Through the abovementioned embodiments, the Raman laser for generating high-power and multiple-wavelength laser lights with visible wavelengths according to the present invention may use the linear resonance cavity under the same configuration, and can obtain high-power visible laser lights with different wavelengths by means of different device arrangement, which is a technology breakthrough.
(29) While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.