Infrared laser

• US 7,286,574 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2004
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Neumann Systems Group
• Original Assignee: Neumann Systems Group
• Inventors: Neumann, David Kurt, Brasseur, Jason Kenneth, Haggans, Charles Wesley
• Primary Examiner(s): Harvey; Minsun Oh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Phillip
• Application Number:
  US10/968,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20050111509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: 372 55- 57, 372/4
• US Class Current: 372/4
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/30 using scattering effects, e.g. stimulated Brillouin or Raman effects
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/302 in an optical fibre
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/305 in a gas

Abstract

An infrared laser has a seed laser with an optical seed output. A pump amplifier receives the optical seed output and has an amplified output. A molecular gas laser receives the amplified output and has an infrared optical output.

Claims

1. An infrared laser, comprising:

a seed laser having an optical output;

a optical amplifier receiving the optical seed output and having an amplified output; and

a molecular gas laser receiving the amplified output and having a continuous wave infrared optical output;

a feed-back loop comprising of a detection system and servo electronics, maintains a required resonant conditions for red-shifted laser operation.

2. The laser of claim 1, wherein the molecular gas laser contains an optically resonant gas.

3. The laser of claim 1, wherein the molecular gas laser contains a Raman active gas.

4. The laser of claim 1, wherein the molecular gas laser has a doubly resonant cavity.

5. The laser of claim 1, wherein the seed laser is a diode laser.

6. The laser of claim 5, wherein the diode laser is distributed feedback diode laser.

7. The laser of claim 5, wherein the diode laser is an external cavity diode laser.

8. The laser of claim 1, wherein the seed laser is a plurality of diode lasers, each of the plurality of diode lasers having a different wavelength optical output.

9. The laser of claim 8, wherein the plurality of diode lasers are distributed feedback diode lasers.

10. The laser of claim 8, wherein the plurality of diode lasers are external cavity diode lasers.

11. The laser of claim 1, wherein the optical amplifier is a plurality of optical amplifiers, the input to each being one or a plurality of diode lasers, and the output of each being coupled to the molecular gas laser.

12. The laser of claim 1, further including a feedback system having a detector detecting the continuous wave infrared optical output and having a feedback signal.

13. The laser of claim 1, wherein the optical amplifier is an optical fiber amplifier.

14. The laser of claim 13, wherein the optical fiber amplifier is a rare earth fiber laser coupled to a Raman fiber laser/amplifier.

15. The laser of claim 14, wherein a first optical resonator of the rare earth fiber laser physically overlaps a second optical resonator of the Raman fiber laser.

16. The laser of claim 13, wherein the optical amplifier is a rare earth doped fiber amplifier.

17. The laser of claim 12, wherein the feedback signal is coupled to the seed laser.

18. The laser of claim 1, where the molecular gas laser contains CO as an optically resonant gas and the optical amplifier is an Er-doped fiber amplifier.

19. The laser of claim 1, where the molecular gas laser contains H2 as a Raman active gas and the optical amplifier is an Er-doped fiber amplifier).

20. The laser of claim 1 where the molecular gas laser contains HBr as an optically resonant gas and the optical amplifier is a Tm-doped fiber amplifier.

21. The laser of claim 1 where the molecular gas laser contains DF as an optically resonant gas and the optical amplifier is a Tm-doped fiber amplifier.

22. The laser of claim 1 where the molecular gas is flowing through a pumped region of the cell.

23. An infrared laser, comprising:

a seed laser having a seed optical output;

an amplifier receiving the seed optical output and having an amplified output; and

a gas molecular laser pumped by the amplified output and having a continuous wave infrared output, the gas molecular laser having a doubly resonant cavity.

24. The laser of claim 23, wherein the amplifier is a fiber amplifier.

25. The laser of claim 24, wherein the gas molecular laser contains a Raman active gas.

26. The laser of claim 25, wherein the Raman active gas is contained in a hollow core optical fiber.

27. An infrared laser, comprising:

a plurality of seed lasers, each of the plurality of seed lasers having an optical output at a different wavelength;

a fiber amplifier receiving the optical output from each of the plurality of seed lasers and having an amplified optical output;

a molecular gas laser pumped by the amplified optical output and having a continuous wave lasing at an infrared wavelength;

a feedback system detecting a power of the molecular gas laser and adjusting at least one of the different wavelengths of the one of the plurality of seed lasers.

28. The laser of claim 27, wherein the fiber amplifier includes a Raman fiber laser.

29. The laser of claim 28, wherein the Raman fiber laser is pumped by a rare earth fiber laser.