Laser seed source system and preparation method

Abstract

The present invention provides a laser seed source system and a preparation method, and relates to the field of laser technology. The system includes: a polymer flexible shell and a laser seed source, the polymer flexible shell wraps the laser seed source, and retains the input optical fiber and the output optical fiber of the laser seed source outside the polymer flexible shell. The use of a shell made of polymer flexible material to wrap the laser seed source can not only isolate the external environment and avoid the influence of the external environment on the laser, but also achieve the purpose of shock resistance, thereby increasing the service life of the laser. In addition, the laser has a simple structure, a small size, is easy to use, and can expand the scope of application.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of laser technology, and in particular relates to a laser seed source system and a preparation method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Lasers play an increasingly important role in people's lives and bring huge economic value. Generally, lasers can be divided into continuous lasers and pulsed lasers. Among them, the seed source in continuous lasers and pulsed lasers is a high-stability laser system with low power output, which can be used as an ideal test light source in the fields of biological imaging, environmental sensing, medical treatment and basic research. In addition, the seed source can achieve high-power laser output after effective amplification by the laser amplification system, making it widely used in laser cutting, laser micromachining, laser communication and other fields.

[0003] At present, the main laser seed source systems all use solid packaging methods to fix the laser system into a box made of metal materials such as aluminum alloy plates as packaging materials. Using metal materials as packaging materials can only fix the components in the laser system, which will make the packaged laser huge. In addition, this packaging method has the following disadvantages: complex process, high cost, high requirements for the external environment, easy to be affected by moisture, poor anti-vibration ability, and low service life of laser components. Due to the above disadvantages, the application field of laser seed sources in practical applications is limited. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides a laser seed source system and a preparation method, aiming to solve the problem that the existing lasers have large size, complex preparation process, high cost, high requirements for the external environment, easy to be affected by moisture, poor anti-vibration ability, short service life and other defects that limit the application field of lasers.

[0005] The present invention provides a laser seed source system, which comprises: a polymer flexible shell and a laser seed source, wherein the polymer flexible shell wraps the laser seed source and retains the input optical fiber and the output optical fiber of the laser seed source outside the polymer flexible shell.

[0006] The present invention provides a method for preparing a laser seed source system, comprising:

[0007] The polymer flexible material is prepared into a fluid state and solidified into a polymer flexible block of a preset shape;

[0008] placing a laser seed source on the surface of the polymer flexible block for fixing;

[0009] The surface of the laser seed source is covered with a fluid polymer flexible material and then solidified.

[0010] The present invention provides a laser seed source system and preparation method, which uses a shell of polymer flexible material to wrap the laser seed source, which can not only isolate the external environment and avoid the influence of the external environment on the laser, but also achieve the purpose of shock resistance, thereby increasing the service life of the laser. In addition, the laser has a simple structure, a small size, is easy to use, and can expand the scope of application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a laser seed source system provided by the present invention;

[0013] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a saturable absorber provided by the present invention;

[0014] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of another saturable absorber provided by the present invention;

[0015] Figure 4 The invention provides a method for preparing a laser seed source system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] In order to make the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0017] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a laser seed source system provided in the first embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 The laser seed source system shown mainly includes: a polymer flexible shell 101 and a laser seed source; the laser seed source includes: a saturable absorber 102, an optical wavelength division multiplexer 103, a gain fiber 104, an optical isolator 105, an optical coupler 106, an input fiber 107 and an output fiber 108.

[0018] The polymer flexible shell 101 encapsulates the laser seed source, and retains the input optical fiber 107 and the output optical fiber 108 of the laser seed source outside the polymer flexible shell 101 .

[0019] Specifically, the material of the polymer flexible shell 101 is polydimethylsiloxane. The size of the polymer flexible shell is 0.5 to 5 cm thick. By wrapping the laser seed source with the polymer flexible shell 101, it can not only be properly bent under the action of stress and have good flexibility, but also can be well isolated from humid air to increase the life of the laser. Since the material has a high transmittance to visible light, the working state of the laser seed source can also be clearly observed. In addition, since the laser seed source system provided by the present invention adopts an integrated and modular integration, the degree of integration is high, the application range of the machine can be expanded, and the cost can be reduced. The laser seed source system provided by the present invention can be used as a seed source system for a continuous output laser and a seed source system for a pulse output laser, and can also be used as a seed source system for an all-fiber laser, a seed source system for a solid laser, and a seed source system for a fiber-solid hybrid laser. Its operating wavelength can adopt a visible light band, a near-infrared band, a mid-infrared band, and a far-infrared band.

[0020] The optical wavelength division multiplexer 103 is connected to the input optical fiber 107 for coupling the input pump laser.

[0021] The gain fiber 104 is connected to the optical wavelength division multiplexer 103 and is used to gain the coupled laser light.

[0022] The optical isolator 105 is connected to the gain optical fiber 104 and is used to limit the output direction of the laser so that the laser is output in one direction.

[0023] The saturable absorber 102 is connected to the optical wavelength division multiplexer 103 and is used to convert the amplified laser light output from the optical wavelength division multiplexer 103 from continuous laser light to pulse laser light.

[0024] The optical coupler 106 is connected to the saturable absorber 101 and the optical isolator 105 respectively, and is used to divide the pulsed laser into two parts, one of which is output through the output optical fiber 108 and the other is input to the optical isolator 105 .

[0025] The above-mentioned laser seed source can also obtain stable pulsed laser in the end by continuously outputting a part of the pulsed laser and performing gain amplification on the other part.

[0026] Furthermore, the saturable absorber 102 includes: a first optical fiber, a second optical fiber, and a low-dimensional material.

[0027] The end face of the core of the first optical fiber and the end face of the core of the second optical fiber sandwich a low-dimensional material.

[0028] Specifically, the low-dimensional material is at least one of carbon nanotubes, graphene, transition metal sulfides and black phosphorus. The transition metal sulfide is at least one of molybdenum disulfide, tungsten disulfide, tungsten diselenide, molybdenum diselenide, zirconium diselenide, zirconium disulfide, tin disulfide, tin diselenide, tungsten ditelluride, molybdenum ditelluride, hafnium disulfide, hafnium diselenide, rhenium diselenide, rhenium disulfide and indium selenide. The low-dimensional material can be a material in the form of a film, powder, etc. The first optical fiber 112 and the second optical fiber 122 are coupled through the low-dimensional material to form a protective absorber. In this way, the input laser enters from the input end of the first optical fiber 112, and when passing through the low-dimensional material, the low-dimensional material fully modulates the input laser and enters the laser cavity through the second optical fiber 122. The modulated laser is a pulsed laser, which can realize the self-starting and pulse compression of the laser. Preferably, the low-dimensional material is a low-dimensional material at the atomic layer level, that is, a low-dimensional layered material with a thickness of several nanometers. Based on the nonlinear saturable absorption characteristics of low-dimensional materials, that is, the transmittance of low-dimensional materials to incident light increases nonlinearly with the increase of the light intensity of the incident light, the noise pulses with smaller light intensity in the laser cavity are absorbed and bleached, thereby further suppressing the generation of noise pulses in the laser cavity and improving the stability of the output pulse sequence.

[0029] For further information, see Figure 2 , Figure 2 is the structural diagram of the saturable absorber. Figure 2 The saturable absorber 202 shown includes a first optical fiber 212 , a second optical fiber 222 , a ferrule 232 , and a low-dimensional material 234 .

[0030] The ferrule 232 is tubular, and the first optical fiber 212 and the second optical fiber 222 are inserted into the cavities at both ends of the ferrule 232 .

[0031] Specifically, the ferrule 232 is made of ceramic material. The ferrule 232 is used to fix the second optical fiber 212 and the second optical fiber 222 so as to couple them. On the other hand, the ferrule 232 can isolate the first optical fiber 212, the second optical fiber 222 and the low-dimensional material 242 from the external environment to the greatest extent, so as to prevent impurities in the air from affecting their nonlinear optical performance.

[0032] Optionally, see Figure 3 , Figure 3 is the structural diagram of the saturable absorber. Figure 3 The saturable absorber 302 shown includes a first optical fiber 312 , a second optical fiber 322 , a V-groove 332 , and a low-dimensional material 342 .

[0033] The first optical fiber 312 and the second optical fiber 322 are placed in the V-groove 332 .

[0034] Placing the first optical fiber 312 and the second optical fiber 322 in the V-groove 332 can effectively fix the first optical fiber 312 and the second optical fiber 322 so that the two can be coupled.

[0035] The present invention provides a laser seed source system, which uses a shell of polymer flexible material to wrap the laser seed source, which can not only isolate the external environment and avoid the influence of the external environment on the laser, but also achieve the purpose of shock resistance, thereby increasing the service life of the laser. In addition, the laser has a simple structure, a small volume, is easy to use, and can expand the scope of application.

[0036] A second embodiment of the present invention provides a method for preparing a laser seed source system, such as Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4 The figure is a flow chart of a method for preparing a laser seed source system, the method comprising:

[0037] S401, preparing the polymer flexible material into a fluid state, and solidifying it into a polymer flexible block of a preset shape;

[0038] S402, placing a laser seed source on the surface of the polymer flexible block for fixing;

[0039] S403, covering the surface of the laser seed source with a fluid polymer flexible material and curing it.

[0040] Furthermore, the laser seed source includes an optical wavelength division multiplexer, a gain fiber, an optical isolator, an optical coupler and a saturable absorber, wherein the preparation method of the saturable absorber includes:

[0041] Inserting the first optical fiber into the lumen at one end of the ferrule;

[0042] Covering the end face of the core of the first optical fiber with a low-dimensional material;

[0043] The end face of the core of the second optical fiber is placed in close contact with the low-dimensional material and inserted into the lumen of the other end of the ferrule to form the saturable absorber.

[0044] Furthermore, the preparation of the saturable absorber further includes:

[0045] placing a first optical fiber in the V-groove;

[0046] Covering the end face of the core of the first optical fiber with a low-dimensional material;

[0047] The second optical fiber is placed in the V-groove, and the end face of the core of the second optical fiber is closely attached to the low-dimensional material to form a saturable absorber.

[0048] For details of the second embodiment of the present invention, please refer to Figure 1 to Figure 3The first embodiment shown will not be described in detail here.

[0049] The present invention provides a method for preparing a laser seed source system, which uses a shell of a polymer flexible material to wrap the laser seed source, which can not only isolate the external environment and avoid the influence of the external environment on the laser, but also achieve the purpose of shock resistance, thereby increasing the service life of the laser. In addition, the laser has a simple structure, a small volume, is easy to use, and can expand the scope of application.

[0050] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A laser seed source system, It is characterized in that The system comprises: a polymer flexible shell and a laser seed source, wherein the polymer flexible shell encapsulates the laser seed source and retains an input optical fiber and an output optical fiber of the laser seed source outside the polymer flexible shell; The laser seed source comprises: an optical wavelength division multiplexer, a gain optical fiber, an optical isolator, an optical coupler and a saturable absorber; The optical wavelength division multiplexer is connected to the input optical fiber and is used to couple the input pump laser; The gain optical fiber is connected to the optical wavelength division multiplexer and is used to gain the coupled laser light; The optical isolator is connected to the gain optical fiber and is used to limit the output direction of the laser so that the laser can be output in one direction; The saturable absorber is connected to the optical wavelength division multiplexer and is used to convert the amplified laser output by the optical wavelength division multiplexer from a continuous laser to a pulsed laser; The optical coupler is connected to the saturable absorber and the optical isolator respectively, and is used to divide the pulsed laser into two parts, one of which is output through the output optical fiber, and the other is input to the optical isolator; The saturable absorber comprises: a first optical fiber, a second optical fiber and a low-dimensional material; Wherein, the low-dimensional material is sandwiched between the core end face of the first optical fiber and the optical fiber end face of the second optical fiber; The polymer flexible shell wraps and fixes the saturable absorber, and keeps one end of the first optical fiber and one end of the second optical fiber outside the polymer flexible shell; The saturable absorber further comprises: an insert, the insert being tubular; The first optical fiber and the second optical fiber are inserted into the cavities at both ends of the ferrule; The saturable absorber further comprises: a V-shaped groove; the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber are placed in the V-shaped groove; The low-dimensional material is at least one of carbon nanotubes, graphene, transition metal sulfides and black phosphorus.

2. The system according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The material of the polymer flexible shell is polydimethylsiloxane.

3. A method for preparing a laser seed source system, It is characterized in that Used to prepare the laser seed source system according to any one of claims 1-2, the method comprising: The polymer flexible material is prepared into a fluid state and solidified into a polymer flexible block of a preset shape; placing a laser seed source on the surface of the polymer flexible block for fixing; Covering the surface of the laser seed source with a fluid polymer flexible material and curing it; The laser seed source includes: a saturable absorber, and the preparation method of the saturable absorber includes: Inserting the first optical fiber into the lumen at one end of the ferrule; Covering the end face of the core of the first optical fiber with a low-dimensional material; The end face of the core of the second optical fiber is placed close to the low-dimensional material and inserted into the lumen at the other end of the ferrule to form the saturable absorber; The method for preparing the saturable absorber further comprises: placing the first optical fiber in the V-groove; Covering the end face of the core of the first optical fiber with the low-dimensional material; The second optical fiber is placed in the V-groove, and the end face of the core of the second optical fiber is closely attached to the low-dimensional material to form the saturable absorber.

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