Bragg fibers in systems for the generation of high peak power light
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of producing an ultrashort high-energy optical pulse, comprising:
- generating a chirped optical signal;
amplifying the chirped optical signal; and
compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort duration optical pulse having a duration of less than 10 picoseconds, wherein at least some of the compression is performed by introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region.
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Abstract
The present invention generally concerns the use of Bragg optical fibers in chirped pulse amplification systems for the production of high-pulse-energy ultrashort optical pulses. A gas-core Bragg optical fiber waveguide can be advantageously used in such systems to stretch the duration of pulses so that they can be amplified, and/or Bragg fibers can be used to compress optical signals into much shorter duration pulses after they have been amplified. Bragg fibers can also function as near-zero-dispersion delay lines in amplifier sections.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method of producing an ultrashort high-energy optical pulse, comprising:
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generating a chirped optical signal; amplifying the chirped optical signal; and compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort duration optical pulse having a duration of less than 10 picoseconds, wherein at least some of the compression is performed by introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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2. A method of producing an ultrashort high-energy optical pulse, comprising:
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generating an optical signal; stretching the optical signal by introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region; amplifying the stretchcd optical signal; compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort duration optical pulse; and delivering the ultrashort optical pulse to a work surface through a second Bragg-fiber waveguide. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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3. A method of producing a high-energy ultrashort optical pulse, comprising:
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generating a chirped optical signal; amplifying the chirped optical signal; and compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort optical pulses, wherein at least one of the steps of generating the chirped optical signal and compressing the optical signal further comprises introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide having a waveguide dispersion greater than about 51 psec/nm/km, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region. - View Dependent Claims (7, 9, 10, 36, 37, 38)
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8. A method of producing a high-energy ultrashort optical pulse, comprising:
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generating a chirped optical signal; amplifying the chirped optical signal; and compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort optical pulse, wherein at least one of the steps of generating the chirped optical signal and compressing the optical signal further comprises introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region; and delivering the ultrashort optical pulse to a work surface through a second Bragg-fiber waveguide.
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11. A method of producing a high-energy ultrashort optical pulse, comprising:
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generating a chirped optical signal; amplifying the chirped optical signal; and compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort optical pulse, wherein at least one of the steps of generating the chirped optical signal and compressing the optical signal further comprises introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide from a diffractive element which matches the polarization and spatial profiling of the optical signal to a mode of the Bragg fiber, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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12. A method of producing a high-energy ultrashort optical pulse, comprising:
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generating a chirped optical signal; amplifying the chirped optical signal; compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort optical pulse, wherein at least one of the steps of generating the chirped optical signal and compressing the optical signal further comprises introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region; and passing the optical signal through a second Bragg-fiber waveguide having minimal dispersion characteristics such that the optical signal is subjected to a time delay.
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13. A method of producing a high-energy ultrashort optical pulse, comprising:
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generating a chirped optical signal; amplifying the chirped optical signal; and compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort optical pulse having a duration of less than 10 picoseconds, wherein at least one of the steps of generating the chirped optical signal and compressing the optical signal further comprises introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region.
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17. A method of producing a high-energy ultrashort optical pulse, comprising:
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generating a chirped optical signal; amplifying the chirped optical signal; and compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort optical pulse, wherein at least one of the steps of generating the chirped optical signal and compressing the optical signal further comprises introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide from an optical element comprising a beam-shaping optical element and a diffractive element which matches the polarization and spatial profiling of the optical signal to a mode of the Bragg fiber, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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30. A method of producing a high-energy ultrashort optical pulse, comprising:
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generating a chirped optical signal; amplifying the chirped optical signal; and compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort optical pulse having a duration of less than 10 picoseconds, wherein at least one of the steps of amplifying the chirped optical signal and compressing the optical signal further comprises introducing the optical signal into a Bragg-fiber waveguide, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a bilayer comprised of two materials of distinct refractive indices wound around the core such that the bilayer is in a spiral configuration.
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31. A method of delivering an ultrashort optical pulse to a surface, comprising:
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generating a chirped optical signal; amplifying the chirped optical signal; compressing the optical signal into an ultrashort duration optical pulse having a duration of less than 10 picoseconds; and delivering the ultrashort optical pulse to a work surface with a Bragg-fiber waveguide, the waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region.
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32. A system for ablating material from a surface with an ultrashort pulse having an energy greater than 1 μ
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means for generating an optical signal; a first fiber waveguide for stretching the optical signal; means for amplifying the stretched optical signal; a second fiber waveguide for compressing the amplified optical signal to an ultrashort duration optical pulse; and a third fiber waveguide for delivering the ultrashort pulse to the surface to be ablated, the third fiber waveguide comprising an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region; wherein at least one of the first and second fiber waveguides comprises an inner core region in which the optical signal is confined, and a plurality of substantially concentric annular regions of differing refractive indices surrounding the inner core region. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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Specification