Abstract:
A fiber for use in the propagation of light pulses with the attendant elimination of distortion. The fiber is useful as a delay line storage device for computer information with an extremely high-packing density capability for the bits of information. Another application is in a broadband communication system as a transmission line and in any application the fiber may be ''''active'''' as either a laser amplifier or oscillator. Basically, the invention involves the choice of fiber core and cladding size and other parameters to counteract, with the anomalous dispersion associated with the waveguide transmission, the normal dispersion of the bulk glass from which the fiber is made. The pulses of light are thereby propagated undistorted since the various frequency components within the light pulse are propagated with an effective velocity which is independent of wavelength in the spectral interval of the pulse.
Abstract:
A laser device with a laser rod positioned within an optical resonant cavity. The composition of the rod is chosen to have a coefficient of linear expansion Alpha L and a thermal coefficient of the index of refraction Alpha n such that the average of the optical path lengths for radial and tangential polarization is equal to the optical path lengths for a ray through the center of the rod. A mode selecting aperture is positioned at an end of the rod along the axis of the cavity for discriminating against all but the HE11 mode. A 1/8 wave Faraday rotator is also positioned along the axis of the cavity. The result is a laser device in which the thermal gradient effects are substantially eliminated.
Abstract:
A light energy detector which includes a laser preamplifier coupled to means for converting the amplified light into electrical energy is provided. The detector is capable of detecting 1.06 micron wavelength light and is capable of detecting a minimum signal of approximately 1,000 photons or less at a duration of 50 nanoseconds or less.
Abstract:
A gas laser oscillator optically coupled to one or more glass laser amplifiers is provided. A high output from the gas laser is optically coupled to the single lowest order mode of the first stage of the glass amplifier. By matching the output of the gas laser to the peak of the fluorescent emission of the glass laser an amplified output results which output has high intensity and high coherence.
Abstract:
1. A DEVICE FOR USE IN A LASER ASSEMBLY, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A LASER COMPONENT OF PREDETERMINED LENGTH AND CROSS-SECTIONAL SIZE AND FORMED OF AN ACTIVE LASER MATERIAL, REFRACTING OPTICAL MEANS INCLUDING A REFRACTING LENS ELEMENT IN OPTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH AND IN INTIMATE OPTICAL CONTACT WITH AN END WALL OF SAID LASER COMPONENT, SAID REFRACTIVE LENS ELEMENT HAVING A SPHERICALLY CURVED FRONT SURFACE OF SUCH PREDETERMINED CONVEX CURVATURE AS TO RECEIVE A CONVERGENT BEAM OF PUMPING LIGHT OF LARGE PREDETERMINED ANGULAR VALUE AND HIGH FLUX DENSITY AND DIRECT SAME AT INCREASED FLUX DENSITY INTO SAID END OF SAID LASER COMPONENT, A FIRST HIGHLY REFLECTING COATING UPON THE FRONT OF SAID REFRACTING LENS ELEMENT ADJACENT THE VERTEX THEREOF, AND A SECOND HIGHLY REFLECTING COATING UPON THE END OF SAID LASER COMPONENT REMOTE FROM SAID LENS ELEMENT, SAID FIRST AND SECOND COATINGS BEING IN FACING RELATION TO EACH OTHER SO AS TO FORM AN OPTICAL RESONANT CAVITY THEREBETWEEN, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID COATINGS HAVING A RELATIVELY SMALL AMOUNT OF TRANSMISSION SO AS TO ALLOW LASER LIGHT DURING LASER ACTION TO PASS OUTWARDLY THERETHROUGH.