Laser Pulse Amplifier With Sacrificial Pulses For Energy Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Short pulse laser systems operate with clock-rate-dependent laser pulse energy, making it difficult to achieve freely selectable triggering and constant settable pulse energy, as existing methods struggle to generate amplified output laser pulses with individually specified energies at specified time points with nanosecond jitter.
Innovation Solution
The method involves providing a pulse sequence of input laser pulses with consistent energy and interval, selecting pulses for amplification, inserting sacrificial pulses if necessary to maintain amplification time periods, and reducing pulse energies through timed partial output coupling to achieve specified output energies at specified times, using an optical amplifier and control units to manage pulse intervals and energies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If laser systems operate with clock-rate-dependent pulse energy at constant pump power, then the laser pulse energy is stable, but the triggering cannot be freely selected and pulse energy cannot be individually specified at arbitrary time points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-generating a high-repetition-rate pulse train from the laser source, and then using a pulse picker to select specific pulses for amplification. This allows the system to prepare multiple pulses in advance at a stable clock rate, while still enabling flexible selection of which pulses to amplify and output, thus achieving both stability and adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the laser pulse train into two functional parts: a stable clock-rate pulse train generated by the laser source for maintaining energy stability, and a selected subset of pulses picked by the pulse picker for amplification and output. This segmentation allows independent optimization of stability (in the laser source) and flexibility (in the pulse selection and amplification stages)
2Stability of the object's composition
If the temporal pulse interval between successive input pulses to be amplified is greater than the maximum time period of the amplifier, then the amplifier has sufficient time to recover inversion, but the pulse energy becomes excessively large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by inserting sacrificial pulses at strategically chosen positions in the pulse train before amplification. These sacrificial pulses consume excess inversion buildup that would otherwise lead to excessively high pulse energies, while still allowing the amplifier sufficient recovery time. This preemptive consumption of excess energy prevents the harmful effect of excessive pulse energy
3Productivity
If the temporal pulse interval between successive input pulses to be amplified is smaller than the minimum time period of the amplifier, then the triggering can be more frequent, but the inversion does not have sufficient time to build up, reducing amplification efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the pulse picking process adaptive and flexible. The pulse picker dynamically selects which pulses from the high-repetition-rate laser train to amplify, allowing the system to handle arbitrarily frequent triggering requests while maintaining optimal amplifier operation. The system can skip pulses when necessary to maintain minimum time periods, or use sacrificial pulses to manage inversion levels, thus adapting to varying productivity requirements without sacrificing amplification efficiency
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 ensures pulse-to-pulse stability, prevents excessive amplification, and allows for high thermal equilibrium, improving the function of optical components by enabling precise control over laser pulse energies and timing, allowing for operation with constant pump power and nearly constant thermal conditions.
Implementation Method 1
amplifying the selected input laser pulses using an optical amplifier
Implementation Method 2
reducing the pulse energies of the amplified input laser pulses to the specified pulse energies by way of timed partial output coupling
Data Source
AI summary
Method and systems are disclosed for generating amplified output laser pulses with individually predefined pulse energies at individually predefined times at an output by providing a pulse sequence of input laser pulses having the same pulse energy and the same temporal pulse interval smaller than the temporal pulse interval between two adjacent output laser pulses, selecting the input laser pulses that arrive at the output at or about the predefined times, amplifying the selected input laser pulses with an optical amplifier, wherein at least one sacrificial laser pulse is inserted into the pulse sequence of the selected input laser pulses before the subsequent one of the two successive input laser pulses to be amplified, and reducing the pulse energies of the amplified input laser pulses to predefined pulse energies by time-controlled partial decoupling depending on their pulse intervals from the corresponding immediately preceding amplified input or sacrificial laser pulse.