Lamp-Pumped Slab Laser With Fluorescent Filters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solid-state laser amplifiers face inefficiencies due to mismatched pump lamp spectra and incomplete beam extraction, limiting their practical applications.
Innovation Solution
A transverse face-pumped, lamp-driven slab laser design with a face-to-face beam propagation scheme and cavity fluorescent filters that convert non-useful lamp output to useful pump bands, allowing for higher efficiency and power handling by redirecting amplified radiation and increasing the number of passes through the gain material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If lamp pumped systems are used, then device complexity is reduced and cost is lowered, but efficiency is limited due to spectral mismatch
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces cavity fluorescent filters as an intermediary component between the pump lamp and the laser crystal. These filters convert the broad spectrum lamp output into specific wavelength bands that match the absorption spectrum of the laser crystal, thereby resolving the spectral mismatch problem while maintaining the simplicity and low cost of lamp pumping
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the spectral parameters of the pump light by using fluorescent filters to convert lamp emission at specific wavelengths to match the absorption bands of the laser crystal. This parameter transformation enables efficient energy transfer from the lamp to the crystal without requiring complex diode pump systems
2Device complexity
If beam passes through crystal only twice, then extraction is simple, but efficiency is limited due to incomplete energy extraction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a single-pass or double-pass linear beam trajectory to a multi-dimensional face-to-face bounce configuration. The beam enters through one face, bounces between opposing faces multiple times (more than two passes), and exits through the same entry face, effectively utilizing the crystal volume in multiple spatial dimensions to extract energy more completely
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous beam circulation through the gain medium via multiple internal reflections. The beam repeatedly traverses the crystal along different paths, continuously extracting energy from the excited states until saturation is approached, thereby maximizing energy extraction efficiency
3Use of energy by moving object
If diode pump lasers are used, then efficiency increases to 25%, but cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, complex diode laser pump sources with simpler, cheaper arc lamps that have shorter operational lifetimes. By combining these economical lamps with cavity fluorescent filters for spectral matching, the system achieves high efficiency at a fraction of the cost of diode-pumped systems
Solution Approach 2:
The cavity fluorescent filters serve as an intermediary that enables the use of inexpensive arc lamps by converting their broad spectrum output to match the laser crystal absorption bands, achieving diode-level efficiency without diode-level cost
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 design achieves higher efficiency and power output compared to diode-pumped systems, with efficiencies approaching 40% and output power exceeding diode-pumped versions, while being less expensive to implement.
Implementation Method 1
cavity fluorescent filters that convert non-useful lamp output to useful pump bands
Implementation Method 2
the crystal configured such that the laser beam is reflected within the crystal more than two times while being amplified by the crystal using said absorbed light energy
Implementation Method 3
said back face and top and bottom sides are configured to reflect a laser beam internally within said crystal
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A laser device is disclosed, the laser device comprising: a pump light source (2; 22) comprising one or more lamps configured to emit light (20); and a slab crystal (1; 21) having a front face, a back face, and four sides such that said back face and said sides are configured to reflect a laser beam (16) internally within said crystal (1; 21), said crystal (1;21) being configured to absorb energy obtained from said emitted light (20), wherein the slab crystal (1; 21) is configured to receive an input laser beam (16; 17) in the front face of the crystal (1; 21), with the crystal (1; 21) configured such that the laser beam (16) is reflected within the crystal (1; 21) more than two times while being amplified by the crystal (1; 21) using said received light energy, and wherein the input laser beam (16; 17) is thereby converted by the crystal (1; 21) into an amplified laser beam (17') emitted from one of the faces of the crystal (1; 21). Also, a system comprising a plurality of laser devices is disclosed.