TWO-DIMENSIONAL MULTI-BEAM STABILIZER AND COMBINING SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20180083412A1
• Filed: 11/03/2017
• Published: 03/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation Of North America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeraDiode, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tayebati, Parviz, Chann, Bien
• Granted Patent: US 10,447,003 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/1006 for splitting or combining different wavelengths G02B27/1086, G02B27/141 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/08 Construction or shape of optical resonators or components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0805 by apertures, e.g. pin-holes or knife-edges
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/08054 Passive cavity elements acting on the polarization, e.g. a polarizer for branching or walk-off compensation quarter-wave plates in a Q-switch laser H01S3/1124, H01S3/115
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0826 using a diffraction grating
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/139 by controlling the mutual position or the reflecting properties of the reflectors of the cavity , e.g. by controlling the cavity length
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/2391 emitting at different wavelengths
• 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 5/4068 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

A system and method for stabilizing and combining multiple emitted beams into a single system using both WBC and WDM techniques.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A method of stabilizing and combining an array of emitters each emitting a beam, the method comprising:

forming a stabilizer cavity wherein each emitter forms a resonator with an external reflective surface to thereby stabilize the beam emitted by each emitter to a unique wavelength, wherein each beam emitted by the array of emitters is introduced to a dispersive element disposed within the resonator, wherein the dispersive element comprises a grating, a chirped grating, a surface grating, a volume grating, a transmission grating, or a prism;

transmitting the beams of the stabilizer from the dispersive element into a wavelength combiner; and

combining the beams, within the wavelength combiner, along one dimension to form a multi-wavelength beam output.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the beams of the stabilizer are transmitted into the wavelength combiner through back facets of the emitters.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the beams of the stabilizer transmitted into the wavelength combiner do not pass through the emitters before entering the wavelength combiner.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the wavelength combiner comprises at least one combining optical element.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the multi-wavelength beam output is transmitted away from the array of emitters.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the beams of the stabilizer transmitted into the wavelength combiner comprise the zero-order dispersion of the dispersive element.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the dispersive element disperses the beams along only a single optical axis.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the dispersive element is the external reflective surface.

29. The method of claim 21, wherein the external reflective surface receives a portion of the beams from the dispersive element to form the resonator.

30. The method of claim 21, further comprising parallelizing the beams within the wavelength combiner before the beams are combined.

31. A method of stabilizing and combining an array of emitters each emitting a beam, the method comprising:

forming a stabilizer cavity wherein each emitter forms a resonator with an external reflective surface to thereby stabilize the beam emitted by each emitter to a wavelength different from wavelengths emitted by the other emitters, wherein each beam emitted by the array of emitters is introduced to a dispersive element disposed within the resonator;

transmitting the beams of the stabilizer from the dispersive element into a wavelength combiner; and

combining the beams, within the wavelength combiner, along one dimension to form a multi-wavelength beam output that is transmitted away from the array of emitters.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the beams of the stabilizer are transmitted into the wavelength combiner through back facets of the emitters.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the beams of the stabilizer transmitted into the wavelength combiner do not pass through the emitters before entering the wavelength combiner.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the wavelength combiner comprises at least one combining optical element.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein the multi-wavelength beam output is transmitted away from the array of emitters.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein the beams of the stabilizer transmitted into the wavelength combiner comprise the zero-order dispersion of the dispersive element.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein the dispersive element disperses the beams along only a single optical axis.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein the dispersive element is the external reflective surface.

39. The method of claim 31, wherein the external reflective surface receives a portion of the beams from the dispersive element to form the resonator.

40. The method of claim 31, further comprising parallelizing the beams within the wavelength combiner before the beams are combined.