Frequency-narrowed high power diode laser array method and system
First Claim
1. A high power diode laser array system having narrow spectral width output comprising:
- (a) a high power diode laser array comprising multiple laser diode emitters arranged in approximately a straight line;
(b) a cylindrical collimating element positioned to receive the output of the laser diode array and provide an output beam that is collimated in a direction perpendicular to a direction along the length of the array of emitters;
(c) a diffraction grating mounted to receive the collimated beam from the collimating element on a beam path, the diffraction grating oriented at an angle to the incident beam such that a portion of the light in the beam incident on the grating is directed back on the beam path to the collimating element and is focused on the array of laser diode emitters to provide feedback thereto to narrow the spectral range of the laser light output; and
(d) a magnifying system formed of optical elements that receives the beam from the cylindrical collimating element and images the emitters of the array in the long dimension of the array that is along the length of the array onto the diffraction grating with a selected magnification factor, the grating having grooves which are aligned parallel to the long dimension of the array of emitters.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A high power diode laser array system utilizes an external cavity to narrow the spectral width of a high power diode laser array to change the output power normally produced by the diode array from a broad spectrum to a very narrow spectrum. The power output of the laser array system is concentrated over a narrow spectral range which falls within the useable range for particular applications such as optical pumping of noble gas samples for magnetic resonance imaging. The output of the array is received by a collimating element, which collimates the light in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the length of the array of emitters and directs the light on a beam path to a diffraction grating which is oriented at an angle to the incident beam. A portion of the beam is directed from the diffraction grating to provide useable output light, and a portion of the light incident on the grating is directed back to be focused on the diode array to provide feedback to cause the diode array to preferentially lase at the wavelength of the light that is fed back. A polarization rotation element may be used to orient the polarization of the light passing through it to control the amount of feedback light.
70 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A high power diode laser array system having narrow spectral width output comprising:
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(a) a high power diode laser array comprising multiple laser diode emitters arranged in approximately a straight line;
(b) a cylindrical collimating element positioned to receive the output of the laser diode array and provide an output beam that is collimated in a direction perpendicular to a direction along the length of the array of emitters;
(c) a diffraction grating mounted to receive the collimated beam from the collimating element on a beam path, the diffraction grating oriented at an angle to the incident beam such that a portion of the light in the beam incident on the grating is directed back on the beam path to the collimating element and is focused on the array of laser diode emitters to provide feedback thereto to narrow the spectral range of the laser light output; and
(d) a magnifying system formed of optical elements that receives the beam from the cylindrical collimating element and images the emitters of the array in the long dimension of the array that is along the length of the array onto the diffraction grating with a selected magnification factor, the grating having grooves which are aligned parallel to the long dimension of the array of emitters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of narrowing the spectral width of the output of a high power diode laser array comprising multiple laser diode emitters arranged in approximately a straight line, comprising:
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(a) receiving the output of the diode laser array with a collimating element to provide a collimated output beam wherein the light is collimated in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the length of the array of emitters;
(b) directing the collimated output beam to a diffraction grating mounted to receive the collimated beam from the collimating element on a beam path, and magnifying the collimated light in the output beam from the collimating element and imaging the dimension of the array along the length of the array onto the diffraction grating, and directing a portion of the beam from the grating back on the beam path to the collimating element and focusing the beam on the laser diode array emitters to provide feedback thereto to narrow the spectral range of the laser light output. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A high power diode laser array system having narrow spectral width output comprising:
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(a) a high power diode laser array comprising multiple laser diode emitters arranged in approximately a straight line;
(b) a cylindrical collimating element positioned to receive the output of the laser diode array and provide an output beam that is collimated in a direction perpendicular to a direction along the length of the array of emitters;
(c) a diffraction grating mounted to receive the collimated beam from the collimating element on a beam path and a mirror facing the grating, the diffraction grating oriented at an angle to the incident beam such that the light is directed from the grating to the mirror and back and a portion of the light is directed back on the beam path to the collimating element and is focused on the array of laser diode emitters to provide feedback thereto to narrow the spectral range of the laser light output; and
(d) a magnifying system formed of optical elements that receives the beam from the cylindrical collimating element and images the emitters of the array in the long dimension of the array that is along the length of the array onto the mirror with a selected magnification factor, the grating having grooves which are aligned parallel to the long dimension of the array of emitters. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of narrowing the spectral width of the output of a high power diode laser array comprising multiple laser diode emitters arranged in approximately a straight line, comprising:
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(a) receiving the output of the diode laser array with a collimating element to provide a collimated output beam wherein the light is collimated in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the length of the array of emitters;
(b) directing the collimated output beam to a diffraction grating mounted to receive the collimated beam from the collimating element on a beam path, reflecting light from the diffraction grating by a mirror back to the diffraction grating, magnifying the collimated light in the beam from the collimating element, and imaging the dimension of the array along the length of the array onto the mirror, and directing a portion of the beam from the grating back on the beam path to the collimating element and focusing the beam on the laser diode array emitters to provide feedback thereto to narrow the spectral range of the laser light output. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification