High power CW mid-IR laser

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10211600-B2
Application number	US-201615557916-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 23, 2016
Priority date	Mar 23, 2015
Publication date	Feb 19, 2019
Grant date	Feb 19, 2019

Abstract

The present invention provides a rotating chalcogenide gain media ring to provide un-precedented power generation with minimal thermal lensing for CW lasing in the mid-IR spectrum.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A continuous wave (“CW”) mid-IR laser comprising:
a resonant cavity;
a gain medium selected from polycrystalline transition metal doped II-VI materials (“TM:II-VI), the gain medium being formed into a ring having an axis and defined by an inner and outer circumference and upstream and downstream faces with a portion of the upstream and downstream faces being positioned within the resonant cavity;
a ring-shaped heat sink concentric with the gain medium and spaced radially therefrom;
a pump source; and
a motor to which the ring is mounted; and whereby the portion of the ring being in the resonant cavity receives pump light sufficient to emit a CW laser beam at a wavelength in the mid-IR spectrum.

2. The CW laser of claim 1 , wherein a face of the gain medium further comprises a reflective coating fixed thereto.

3. The CW laser of claim 1 , wherein the gain medium is characterized as of Cr:ZnSe.

4. The CW laser of claim 1 , wherein the gain medium is characterized as of Cr:ZnS.

5. The CW laser of claim 1 further comprising a foil positioned on a circumference.

6. The CW laser of claim 5 , wherein the foil includes Indium.

7. The CW laser of claim 1 further comprising another ring-shaped heat sink concentric with the gain medium, wherein the heat sinks are spaced radially from one another facing respective inner and outer circumferences of the gain medium.

8. The CW laser of claim 7 further comprising spaced radially apart ring-shaped foils concentric with and located between respective heatsinks and internal and external circumferences of the gain medium.

9. The CW laser of claim 7 further comprising a radiator-concentric with the gain medium and heat sinks to facilitate heat removal therefrom.

Assignees

• Ipg Photonics Corp

Inventors

• Moskalev Igor

Classifications

• H01S3/1026

  Controlling the active medium by translation or rotation, e.g. to remove heat from that part of the active medium that is situated on the resonator axis · CPC title

• H01S3/08072

  Thermal lensing or thermally induced birefringence; Compensation thereof · CPC title

• H01S3/162

  transition metal · CPC title

• H01S3/0604 Primary

  in the form of a plate or disc · CPC title

• H01S3/1628 Primary

  characterised by a semiconducting matrix · CPC title