Optical system with bright light output
First Claim
1. An optical system for producing a bright light output comprising,a plurality of light sources, each of said light sources emitting light from a given emissive area with given lateral and transverse divergences,a plurality of fiberoptic waveguides, each of said waveguides having an oblong input end and an output end, each oblong input end positioned relative to one of said light sources for accepting light therefrom, each oblong input end having core dimensions and lateral and transverse numerical apertures corresponding respectively to said emissive area and said lateral and transverse divergences of said one of said light sources so as to guide most of said light emitted by said light source, said fiberoptic waveguides being arranged at said output ends to form a bundle.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical system producing bright light output for optical pumping, communications, illumination and the like in which one or more fiberoptic waveguides receive light from one or more diode lasers or diode laser bars and transmit the light to an output end where it is focused or collimated into a bright light image. The input end of the fiberoptic waveguide may be squashed into an elongated cross section so as to guide light emitted from an elongated light source such as a diode laser bar. The waveguides are preferably arranged at the output end into a tightly packed bundle where a lens or other optical means focuses or collimates the light. For diode laser bars much wider than 100 microns, a plurality of waveguides may be arranged in a line to receive the light, and then stacked at the output in a less elongated configuration. In this manner, light from many diode lasers or laser bars may be coupled through the bundle into the end of solid state laser medium.
46 Citations
25 Claims
-
1. An optical system for producing a bright light output comprising,
a plurality of light sources, each of said light sources emitting light from a given emissive area with given lateral and transverse divergences, a plurality of fiberoptic waveguides, each of said waveguides having an oblong input end and an output end, each oblong input end positioned relative to one of said light sources for accepting light therefrom, each oblong input end having core dimensions and lateral and transverse numerical apertures corresponding respectively to said emissive area and said lateral and transverse divergences of said one of said light sources so as to guide most of said light emitted by said light source, said fiberoptic waveguides being arranged at said output ends to form a bundle.
-
18. An optical system comprising,
a laser diode bar emitting a plurality of light elements from an oblong emissive area having a width and a height, the light elements radiating with characteristic lateral and transverse divergences, the emissive area being divided into a plurality of segments, each segment having at least one light element, a plurality of fiberoptic waveguides, each of said waveguides having an oblong input end and an output end, the oblong input end of each waveguide being positioned relative to said laser diode bar for guiding light elements from one of said segments, the elongated input end of each waveguide having core dimensions and lateral and transverse numerical apertures corresponding respectively to a segment and said characteristic lateral and transverse divergences so as to guide most of said light emitted from said segment, said waveguides being arranged at said output end to form a bundle.
-
22. An optical system for producing a bright light output comprising,
a plurality of light sources, each of said light sources emitting light from a given emissive area with given lateral and transverse divergences, a plurality of fiberoptic waveguides, each of said waveguides having an oblong input end and an output end, each oblong input end positioned relative to one of said light sources for accepting light therefrom, each oblong input end having core dimensions and lateral and transverse numerical apertures corresponding respectively to said emissive area and said lateral and transverse divergences of said one of said light sources so as to guide most of said light emitted by said light source, said fiberoptic waveguides being arranged at said output ends to form a bundle, and optical means in proximity to each output end of partially reflecting a portion of said light emerging from said waveguides back into said waveguides thereby coupling said portion of said light into said light sources to induce coherent emission of said light sources.
-
25. Iaddend. .Iadd.30. An optical system comprising:
-
a laser diode emitting a plurality of light elements from an oblong emissive area having a width and a height, the light elements radiating wih characteristic lateral and transverse divergences, the emissive area being divided into a plurality of segments, each segment having at least one light element, a plurality of fiberoptic waveguides, each of said waveguides having an oblong input end and an output end, the oblong input end of each waveguide being positioned relative to said laser diode bar for accepting light elements from one of said segments, the oblong input end of each waveguide having core dimensions corresponding to a segment and a numerical aperture capable of guiding most of said light emitted from said segment, said waveguides being arranged at said output ends to form a bundle. .Iaddend. .Iadd.31. The system of claim 30 wherein said oblong input end of each fiberoptic waveguide is rectangular. .Iaddend. .Iadd.32. The system of claim 30 wherein said numerical aperture of each waveguide corresponds to the larger of said lateral and transverse divergences of said light elements. .Iaddend. .Iadd.33. The system of claim 30 wherein said bundle has width and height dimensions such that the ratio of width to height of said bundle is less than the ratio of width to height of said emissive area of said laser diode bar. .Iaddend. .Iadd.34. The system of claim 30 further comprising optical means in proximity to said output ends of said bundle of waveguides for coupling said light elements into a solid state laser medium. .Iaddend.
-
Specification