Chirped Bragg grating elements

• US 9,793,674 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Necsel Intellectual Property Inc. (Ushio Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Necsel Intellectual Property Inc. (Ushio Incorporated)
• Inventors: Volodin, Boris Leonidovich, Ban, Vladimir Sinisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Kinam
• Application Number:
  US13/629,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20140029641A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,845 Days
• Field of Search: 372 25, 372102, 372 98, 372 41
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0014 at least one surface having optical power
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0057 in the form of a laser diode array, e.g. laser diode bar semiconductor laser arrays with beam combining arrangement H01S5/4012
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0944 Diffractive optical elements, e.g. gratings, holograms gratings per se G02B5/18; holograms used as optical elements per se G02B5/32
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0057 Temporal shaping, e.g. pulse compression, frequency chirping soliton generation and propagation G02F1/3513, H01S3/063 and H01S3/108
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/08009 using a diffraction grating
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/08013 Resonator comprising a fibre, e.g. for modifying dispersion or repetition rate the active medium being a fibre H01S3/067
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/08031 Single-mode emission
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/109 Frequency multiplication, e.g. harmonic generation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/005 Optical components external to the laser cavity, specially adapted therefor, e.g. for homogenisation or merging of the beams or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping H01S5/026, H01S5/18388 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0654 Single longitudinal mode emission
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0656 Seeding, i.e. an additional light input is provided for controlling the laser modes, for example by back-reflecting light from an external optical component H01S5/14, H01S5/4062 and H01S5/4006 take precedence
• 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 5/405 Two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4062 with an external cavity or using internal filters, e.g. Talbot filters
• 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

Apparatus and methods for altering one or more spectral, spatial, or temporal characteristics of a light-emitting device are disclosed. Generally, such apparatus may include a volume Bragg grating (VBG) element that receives input light generated by a light-emitting device, conditions one or more characteristics of the input light, and causes the light-emitting device to generate light having the one or more characteristics of the conditioned light.

Claims

1. Apparatus for producing high peak power ultra-short pulses, the apparatus comprising:

a first volume Bragg grating element comprising a three-dimensional bulk of optical material having a first Bragg grating formed therein, said first Bragg grating defining a first Bragg grating vector and having a first grating period that varies as a function of position along the first Bragg grating vector;

an optical amplifier; and

a second volume Bragg grating element comprising a three-dimensional bulk of optical material having a second Bragg grating formed therein, said second Bragg grating defining a second Bragg grating vector and having a second grating period that varies as a function of position along the second Bragg grating vector;

wherein the first volume Bragg grating element is adapted to receive an incident laser pulse, to stretch the incident laser pulse to form a stretched laser pulse, and to provide the stretched laser pulse to the optical amplifier,

wherein the optical amplifier is adapted to receive the stretched laser pulse, to amplify the stretched laser pulse to form an amplified stretched pulse, and to provide the amplified stretched pulse to the second volume Bragg grating element, and

wherein the second volume Bragg grating element is adapted to receive the amplified stretched pulse from the optical amplifier, and to compress the amplified stretched laser pulse to form a compressed amplified laser pulse.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the incident laser pulse has a first peak power and the compressed amplified laser pulse has a second peak power that is greater than the first peak power.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the incident laser pulse has a first pulse width and the compressed amplified laser pulse has a second pulse width that is approximately equal to the first pulse width.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the incident laser pulse has a first pulse width and the stretched laser pulse has a second pulse width that is greater than the first pulse width.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stretched laser pulse has a first pulse width and the compressed amplified laser pulse has a second pulse width that is less than the first pulse width.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the incident laser pulse has a pulse width of less than 10 picoseconds.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the incident laser pulse has a pulse width of less than 10 picoseconds.

8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the incident laser pulse has a pulse width of less than 10 picoseconds.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second volume Bragg grating elements are the same element.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first volume Bragg grating element defines a first aperture and a second aperture opposite the first aperture, and

wherein the first volume Bragg grating element is adapted to receive the incident laser pulse via the first aperture, and to receive the amplified stretched pulse via the second aperture.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first aperture defines a first plane, and the Bragg grating vector is normal to the first plane.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second aperture defines a second plane, and the Bragg grating vector is normal to the second plane.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the second aperture defines a plane, and the Bragg grating vector is normal to the plane defined by the second aperture.