An improved laser particularly well adapted to produce high flux densities is disclosed. The disclosed laser includes an optical cavity wherein a curved window and a convex mirror make up one end wall assembly, such window and mirror being disposed with respect to each other in such a manner that the flux density at the window is less than the flux density at the mirror and, at the same time, energy reflected from the window constructively interferes with energy within the optical cavity.

A gas laser includes a pair of subsidiary electrodes to form a sharpening gap. These subsidiary electrodes are located within the envelope of the laser so as to be exposed to the same gas or mixture of gases that flow between the main electrodes and support the main lasing action. The efficiency of the laser and the lifetime of the electrodes of the sharpening gap are thereby improved, together with other advantages.

The invention refers to a laser having first and second reflecting elements (3, 4) defining a laser cavity; a laser microchip (1) provided in the laser cavity to generate laser radiation of a fundamental wavelength; and a quasi-phase matching non-linear optical element (2) provided in the laser cavity to receive said laser radiation of the fundamental wavelength from the laser microchip (1) and to emit frequency doubled laser radiation (SH) of a wavelength half as long as the fundamental wavelen...

A Q-switched laser, which is pumped by at least one pump source (8), providing pulses. The laser comprises two mirrors (3,5) providing a laser cavity, in which a gain medium (2), a saturable absorber (4) and a controllable active modulator (6) is situated. Loss can be introduced in the modulator (6) by a control device (10). In a first phase, said control device (10) introduces loss in the active modulator, setting a threshold inversion density band to a level (B) high enough to be above the act...

A room temperature opticaly pumped solid state laser operating in the 0.8 to 0.9 micron region with inherently low beam divergence enchances covert laser systems because of compatability with high quantum efficiency low noise photocathodes.

An improved laser system having a Q-switch which is a roof prism rotatable about a spinning axis transverse to the axis of the laser rod, in which the medial plane of the prism is offset from the axis of the rod to receive output radiation from the rod on one side of its medial plane and direct the radiation from the other side of its medial plane to a reflector which radiation is back reflected to the rod by prism, the laser rod being outside of the path of the radiation between the reflector m...

A laser includes first and second feedback elements defining a laser cavity, and a gain medium within the laser cavity. The gain medium has first and second facets and an optical waveguide for guiding optical radiation between said first and second facets. The second feedback element is wavelength selective, and the optical waveguide is configured to direct optical radiation at an angle .theta. to the normal of the second facet.

The present invention relates to a laser including a laser amplifier and a laser resonator. The laser amplifier includes a disk-shaped active medium having a reflector. The active medium rests on a cooling means for cooling said active medium and said reflector. The reflector embodies a mirror of said laser resonator. The laser amplifier includes an optical means for refocusing a pumping light configured for repeatedly deviating said pumping light and refocusing said pumping light onto the activ...

A laser device and a method of pumping a laser gain medium (R) comprise directing pulses of laser light from a pump laser (10) to a series of separate locations (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17) arranged longitudinally along the gain medium (R) in the direction of laser propagation. Each pulse of laser light generates a population inversion in an associated portion of the gain medium (R) just ahead of the laser photons. The pulses from the pump laser (10) are transmitted by a splitter (18) to the ...

A method of stabilising a laser in order to maintain the laser in SLM operation is disclosed. The resonator cavity of the laser is modulated by a modulation signal applied to a piezo-electric transducer 10 coupled to the output coupler 2 of the laser. The modulation signal is also multiplied by a signal indicative of the energy of the laser radiation within the resonator cavity. The product of these two signals is then low-pass filtered to provide an error signal which is additionally applied to...