Chirped Bragg grating elements

• US 10,205,295 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2017
• Issued: 02/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Necsel Intellectual Property Inc. (Ushio Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Necsel Intellectual Property Inc. (Ushio Incorporated)
• Inventors: Volodin, Boris Leonidovich, Ban, Vladimir Sinisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Kinam
• Application Number:
  US15/702,946
• Publication Number:
  US 20180013255A1
• Time in Patent Office: 517 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0014 at least one surface having optical power
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0057 in the form of a laser diode array, e.g. laser diode bar semiconductor laser arrays with beam combining arrangement H01S5/4012
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0944 Diffractive optical elements, e.g. gratings, holograms gratings per se G02B5/18; holograms used as optical elements per se G02B5/32
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0057 Temporal shaping, e.g. pulse compression, frequency chirping soliton generation and propagation G02F1/3513, H01S3/063 and H01S3/108
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/08009 using a diffraction grating
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/08013 Resonator comprising a fibre, e.g. for modifying dispersion or repetition rate the active medium being a fibre H01S3/067
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/08031 Single-mode emission
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/109 Frequency multiplication, e.g. harmonic generation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/005 Optical components external to the laser cavity, specially adapted therefor, e.g. for homogenisation or merging of the beams or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping H01S5/026, H01S5/18388 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0654 Single longitudinal mode emission
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0656 Seeding, i.e. an additional light input is provided for controlling the laser modes, for example by back-reflecting light from an external optical component H01S5/14, H01S5/4062 and H01S5/4006 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/141 using a wavelength selective device, e.g. a grating or etalon H01S5/146 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/143 Littman-Metcalf configuration, e.g. laser - grating - mirror
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4012 Beam combining, e.g. by the use of fibres, gratings, polarisers, prisms
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/405 Two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4062 with an external cavity or using internal filters, e.g. Talbot filters
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4068 with lateral coupling by axially offset or by merging waveguides, e.g. Y-couplers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4087 emitting more than one wavelength

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for altering one or more spectral, spatial, or temporal characteristics of a light-emitting device are disclosed. Generally, such apparatus may include a volume Bragg grating (VBG) element that receives input light generated by a light-emitting device, conditions one or more characteristics of the input light, and causes the light-emitting device to generate light having the one or more characteristics of the conditioned light.

Claims

1. Apparatus for compressing laser pulses, the apparatus comprising:

an optical amplifier; and

a volume Bragg grating element comprising a three-dimensional bulk of optical material having a Bragg grating formed therein, the Bragg grating defining a Bragg grating vector and having a grating period that varies as a function of position along the Bragg grating vector,

wherein the Bragg grating element is configured to compress chirped laser pulses received from the optical amplifier.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the Bragg grating element is configured to receive the chirped laser pulses from the optical amplifier.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the Bragg grating defines an entrance aperture of the Bragg grating element and an exit aperture of the Bragg grating element, and wherein the entrance aperture and exit aperture coincide.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the entrance aperture defines a plane, and the Bragg grating vector is normal to the plane defined by the entrance aperture.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the Bragg grating element is configured such that an incident chirped laser pulse that is incident on the entrance aperture is compressed and reflected through the exit aperture as a compressed laser pulse.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the incident chirped laser pulse has first pulse width before incidence on the entrance aperture, and the compressed laser pulse has a second pulse width after reflection through the exit aperture, and wherein the second pulse width is less than first pulse width.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second pulse width is less than 10 picoseconds.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the Bragg grating element is configured such that an incident chirped laser pulse that is incident on the Bragg grating element is compressed and reflected back out of the Bragg grating element as a compressed laser pulse.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the incident chirped laser pulse has first pulse width before incidence on the Bragg grating element, and the compressed laser pulse has a second pulse width after reflection out of the Bragg grating element, and wherein the second pulse width is less than first pulse width.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second pulse width is less than 10 picoseconds.

11. Apparatus for compressing laser pulses, the apparatus comprising:

an optical amplifier; and

a volume Bragg grating element comprising a three-dimensional bulk of optical material having a Bragg grating formed therein, the Bragg grating defining a Bragg grating vector and having a grating period that varies as a function of position along the Bragg grating vector,

wherein the Bragg grating element is configured such that an incident chirped laser pulse that is incident on the Bragg grating element from the optical amplifier is compressed and reflected back out of the Bragg grating element as a compressed laser pulse.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the incident chirped laser pulse has first pulse width before incidence on the Bragg grating element, and the compressed laser pulse has a second pulse width after reflection out of the Bragg grating element, and wherein the second pulse width is less than first pulse width.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second pulse width is less than 10 picoseconds.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the Bragg grating defines an entrance aperture of the Bragg grating element and an exit aperture of the Bragg grating element, wherein the entrance aperture and exit aperture coincide, wherein the entrance aperture defines a plane, and wherein the Bragg grating vector is normal to the plane defined by the entrance aperture.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the Bragg grating element is configured such that the incident chirped laser pulse is incident on the entrance aperture and reflected through the exit aperture as the compressed laser pulse.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the incident chirped laser pulse has first pulse width before incidence on the entrance aperture, and the compressed laser pulse has a second pulse width after reflection through the exit aperture, and wherein the second pulse width is less than first pulse width.

17. Apparatus for compressing laser pulses, the apparatus comprising:

an optical amplifier; and

a volume Bragg grating element comprising a three-dimensional bulk of optical material having a Bragg grating formed therein, the Bragg grating defining a Bragg grating vector and having a grating period that varies as a function of position along the Bragg grating vector,

wherein the Bragg grating element defines an entrance aperture of the Bragg grating element and an exit aperture of the Bragg grating element, wherein the entrance aperture and exit aperture coincide, and

wherein the Bragg grating element is configured such that an incident chirped laser pulse that is incident on the entrance aperture from the optical amplifier is reflected through the exit aperture as a compressed laser pulse.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the incident chirped laser pulse has first pulse width before incidence on the entrance aperture, and the compressed laser pulse has a second pulse width after reflection through the exit aperture, and wherein the second pulse width is less than first pulse width.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the second pulse width is less than 10 picoseconds.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the entrance aperture defines a plane, and wherein the Bragg grating vector is normal to the plane defined by the entrance aperture.