Glass-Ceramic Laser With Hollow Waveguide For Compact Footprint
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional slab lasers face challenges in achieving a long resonator length while maintaining a compact physical footprint and high beam quality, as well as efficient heat transfer and optical alignment.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a hollow waveguide between the gain medium and resonator mirrors, which guides laser light and provides a meandering path, using a solid body with defined conduits and cavities to support optical components, thereby minimizing physical length and enhancing mechanical rigidity and beam quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a long resonator length is used to ensure low Fresnel number and good beam quality, then the physical footprint of the laser increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a meandering optical path that folds the resonator length into a compact footprint by utilizing multiple reflections between mirrors arranged in a folded geometry. This allows the optical path length to be much longer than the physical dimensions of the laser device, effectively resolving the contradiction between long resonator length and compact footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow waveguide structure integrates multiple functional elements within a compact enclosed geometry. The meandering optical path is nested within the hollow waveguide, allowing the long optical path to be contained within a small physical volume, thus achieving both long resonator length and compact footprint.
2Ease of operation
If traditional mechanical mounts are used to support optical components, then alignment is easier to adjust, but mechanical rigidity and stability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the support structure for optical components directly into the hollow waveguide body, merging the structural support function with the optical guidance function. This eliminates the need for separate mechanical mounts while maintaining both mechanical rigidity and proper optical alignment through the integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow waveguide structure provides self-alignment for optical components through its integrated geometry. The components are positioned and aligned by the waveguide's own structural features rather than requiring external mechanical adjustment mechanisms, thus achieving both rigidity and ease of alignment.
3Manufacturing precision
If hollow waveguide is used to guide laser light, then beam quality is improved by suppressing higher order modes, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow waveguide serves multiple functions simultaneously: it guides the laser light, provides mechanical support for optical components, defines the resonator geometry, and suppresses higher order modes to ensure beam quality. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby offsetting the apparent complexity with functional integration.
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 configuration allows for a long resonator length with a low Fresnel number, ensuring a high-quality output beam and reduced need for optical mechanical mounts, while maintaining a compact footprint and efficient heat transfer.
Implementation Method 1
the hollow waveguide is arranged between the gain medium and at least one of the resonator mirrors to guide laser light from the medium to at least one of the resonator mirrors
Implementation Method 2
resonator mirrors... to guide laser light from the medium to at least one of the resonator mirrors
Data Source
AI summary
A laser is disclosed having a housing formed of a block of glass-ceramic. The block is machined (or otherwise formed) to define one or more channels that act as a waveguide in two dimensions for light within the laser resonator. The channels extend between cavities also formed within the block which retain optical components of the laser, e.g. one or more of the gain medium, cavity mirrors, intermediate reflectors etc. The positioning, shape and size of each cavity is bespoke for the optical component it holds in order that each optical component is retained in optical alignment rigidly against the sides of the cavity.