A method of adjusting an optical element of a gas discharge laser, which element is provided at one end of a tubular metal support with the support in turn secured to the laser tube, by drawing a tubular section of the support beyond the yield point of the metal of which the tubular section consists during or after adjustment of the optical element by deformation of the tubular section throughout the circumference. An accurate adjustment of the element thereby takes place in a simple manner in which no stresses remain in the material which might otherwise maladjust the laser. The tubular section preferably consists of copper or nickel.
An adjustment device for adjusting the reflector mirrors of a laser resonator to be precisely parallel to one another comprises a carrier and an integral adjustment head together having an H-cross section provided by a recess system of a peripheral outer recess flanked by a pair of inner circular recesses so that an axially elastic and adequately side stable and temperature permanent adjustment derives.
Misalignment of a laser beam due to bending of a plasma tube for an internal resonator ion laser, or another structural element supporting beam guiding optics, is controlled by varying the distribution of heat flow out of the plasma tube or structural element to compensate for any misalignment in response to position of the laser beam. A detector is mounted along the optical path of the laser beam, and generates a position signal indicating drift of the laser beam from a preferred position. A cooling system, thermally connected to the structural material of the plasma tube or the structural element and connected to the detector, conducts heat out of the structural material in a controlled distribution in response to the position signal, so that misalignment of the optics due to thermal bending is minimized.
A method for the attachment and adjustment of a glass fiber end section in which a single monomode glass fiber end section--within a protective housing in the optical active direction of an opto-electronic component (3), such as a GaAs-laser (3) is precisely adjusted and attached toward the optically active area or spot (4) of the laser whereby in a first step, the end section (1) is attached to a support (2) within the protective housing by cementing or soldering and that the axis of the end section (1) is held in the active direction by the support (2) and is provisionally directed at the active spot (4), and subsequently, in a second step, the end section (1) is precisely aligned with the active area or spot (4) through deformation of the support. Prior to the second step or during the first step or prior to the first step, the support (2), which is formed of a solid base (2) of ductile metal such as copper, tin solder or indium solder in a strong, very stiff construction on a common metal block (5) is mechanically coupled with its footing (10) to the laser (3) at a spacing of less than 5 mm from the component (3), and--the base (2) is deformed, through squeezing, in the second step.
Disclosed is a mirror mounting device and method for beam path alignment of an optical cavity for a ring laser gyroscope. The ring laser gyroscope is of the type that includes a block having an optical cavity that defines a closed loop optical path. A light source directs a light beam into the path. The block includes mounting surfaces for mirrors that reflect the light beam at the optical path corners. The mirror mounting device is associated with one of the block mounting surfaces and acts to orient a concave reflective surface of one of the mirrors such that the light beam is aligned within the closed loop optical path and is at its maximum intensity irrespective of the position of the concave reflective surface of the mirror relative to its mounting surface.
