INTRACAVITY UPCONVERSION LASER

• US 20090161704A1
• Filed: 04/17/2007
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Mönch, Holger, Weichmann, Ulrich, Heusler, Gero
• Application Number:
  US12/296,690
• Publication Number:
  US 20090161704A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 372/22
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/109 Frequency multiplication, e.g. harmonic generation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/026 Monolithically integrated components, e.g. waveguides, monitoring photo-detectors, drivers stabilisation of output H01S5/06
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1039 Details on the cavity length
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/14 External cavity lasers H01S5/18 takes precedence; mode locking H01S5/065
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/183 having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/18388 Lenses

Abstract

The present invention relates to an upconversion laser system comprising at least a semiconductor laser having a gain structure (4) arranged between a first mirror (5) and a second mirror (6), said first (5) and said second mirror (6) forming a laser cavity (7) of the semiconductor laser, and an upconversion laser for upconverting a fundamental radiation of said semiconductor laser. The upconversion laser system of the present invention is characterized in that the upconversion laser is arranged in the laser cavity (7) of the semiconductor laser. The proposed upconversion laser system has a compact design.

Claims

1. Upconversion laser system comprising at least a semiconductor laser having a gain structure (4, 17) arranged between a first mirror (5, 16) and a second mirror (6), said first (5, 16) and said second mirror (6) forming a laser cavity (7) of the semiconductor laser, and an upconversion laser for upconverting a fundamental radiation of said semiconductor laser,

characterized in that said upconversion laser is arranged in the laser cavity (7) of the semiconductor laser.

2. Upconversion laser system according to claim 1,

characterized in that said upconversion laser comprises an upconverting solid state medium (8) between two mirrors (6, 9), one of said mirrors being highly reflective and the other being partially transmissive for upconverted radiation.

3. Upconversion laser system according to claim 2,

characterized in that one of said mirrors (6, 9) of the upconversion laser is the second mirror (6) of said semiconductor laser.

4. Upconversion laser system according to claim 2,

characterized in that said mirrors (6, 9) of said upconversion laser are formed of dielectric coatings on said upconverting solid state medium (8).

5. Upconversion laser system according to claim 1,

characterized in that the semiconductor laser comprises an optical system (12) generating a beam waist (13) of the fundamental radiation within the upconverting solid state medium (8).

6. Upconversion laser system according to claim 1,

characterized in that the semiconductor laser is designed in a VECSEL configuration.

7. Upconversion laser system according to claim 6,

characterized in that said first mirror (5, 16) is formed as a DBR-structure (16) on said gain structure (4, 17).

8. Upconversion laser system according to claim 1,

characterized in that said semiconductor laser is designed to generate IR radiation.

9. Upconversion laser system according to claim 2,

characterized in that the upconverting solid state medium (8) is made of Er:

ZBLAN.

10. Upconversion laser system according to claim 1,

characterized in that several of said semiconductor lasers are arranged to form an array of laser sources.

11. Upconversion laser system according to claim 1 in a projection system or in a fiberoptic illumination unit.