Modular diode laser assembly

Abstract

An extremely versatile diode laser assembly is provided, the assembly comprised of a plurality of diode laser subassemblies mounted to a stepped cooling block. The stepped cooling block allows the fabrication of a close packed and compact assembly in which individual diode laser subassembly output beams do not interfere with one another.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent Ser. No. 11 / 378,570, filed Mar. 17, 2006, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent Ser. No. 11 / 313,068, filed Dec. 20, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 739,185, filed Nov. 22, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for any and all purposes.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to semiconductor lasers and, more particularly, to a laser assembly that permits the output from multiple diode lasers to be effectively and efficiently combined. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] High power diode lasers have been widely used in industrial, graphics, medical and defense applications. The beam divergence and the relatively low output power of such lasers has, however, limited their usefulness. [0004] The output beam of a diode laser is asymmetric due to the beam having a higher...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

Enables efficient combination of diode laser beams into a single high-power beam, addressing the limitations of asymmetric divergence and low output power, while providing a flexible solution for specific application needs through tailored configurations.

Problems solved by technology

The beam divergence and the relatively low output power of such lasers has, however, limited their usefulness.

Although beam optics can be used on individual diode lasers, in the past the use of such optics has made it difficult to combine multiple diode laser beams into a single beam of sufficient output power to suit many applications.

The patent does not specifically disclose the use of laser diodes nor does the patent disclose altering the beam shape of the individual laser beams prior to directing the beams into the beam bundle.

Although the patent discloses several ways of stacking the subassemblies in order to form the desired 2-D laser array, the patent does not disclose any optical systems for use in combining the output beams of the individual emitters and / or subassemblies.

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