Coupled Imaging Systems for Multi-Reflection Pump Light
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pump systems for solid state lasers are limited in the number of passes of pump light through the active mirror, requiring complex and costly optical setups with multiple mirrors or prisms, which restricts the achievable power of the laser beam.
Innovation Solution
The use of coupled imaging systems with non-coincident optical axes allows for a large number of passes of the pump light through the active mirror, utilizing a pair of spherical mirrors and a lens or prism to achieve multiple reflections without the need for numerous individual mirrors, thereby simplifying the optical configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple individual mirrors or prisms are used to achieve multiple passes of pump light through the active mirror, then the number of passes increases, but the device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple optical functions (imaging, reflection, and beam steering) into a single coupled imaging system with non-coincident optical axes. This merging of functions eliminates the need for multiple separate mirrors and prisms, achieving hundreds of passes through the active mirror while maintaining a compact and simple optical configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging system performs multiple functions simultaneously: it images the pump beam, provides the necessary reflections, and directs the beam through the active mirror repeatedly. This multi-functional design replaces what would traditionally require several dedicated optical components, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high productivity.
2Power
If a longer crystal rod is used to absorb more pump energy, then the laser power increases, but the beam quality degrades due to inhomogeneity and thermal distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a traditional single-pass or limited-pass pump configuration to a multi-pass configuration where the pump beam traverses the active mirror hundreds of times. This dimensional change in the light path allows sufficient pump energy absorption to achieve high power output while maintaining short crystal rod length, thereby preserving beam quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupled imaging system creates a continuous recirculating path for the pump beam through the active mirror. This continuous action allows the pump energy to be absorbed repeatedly over many passes, enabling high power extraction from a short crystal rod without the beam quality degradation associated with long rods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables a significant increase in the number of passes of the pump light through the active mirror, effectively equivalent to hundreds of passes, enhancing the power of the laser beam while reducing the complexity and cost of the optical system.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing a pair of spherical mirrors and a lens or prism to achieve multiple reflections
Implementation Method 2
utilizing a pair of spherical mirrors and a lens or prism to achieve multiple reflections
Implementation Method 3
Light emitted by the flashlamp 104, known as pump light, is absorbed by the crystal 102 to excite the electrons in the crystal to an upper energy level
Implementation Method 4
The resonance of the cavity and the stimulated emission in the crystal result in the emission of a coherent laser light beam 110 through the partial mirror 108
Data Source
AI summary
A large number of passes of pump light through an active mirror in a solid state disk laser is realized using a pair of coupled imaging systems, where the optical axes of imaging systems are not coincident. Two imaging systems are optically coupled, so that an image of the first imaging system is an object of the second imaging system, and vice versa. An active mirror is disposed at the object or image plane, or at the focal plane of any one of the coupled imaging systems, where the position of the reflected pump beam during the multi-reflection between the first and second imaging systems is substantially unchanged.