Widely tunable infrared source system and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11658454-B2
Application number	US-202117323003-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 18, 2021
Priority date	Jun 20, 2012
Publication date	May 23, 2023
Grant date	May 23, 2023

Abstract

A system and method for tuning and infrared source laser in the Mid-IR wavelength range. The system and method comprising, at least, a plurality of individually tunable emitters, each emitter emitting a beam having a unique wavelength, a grating, a mirror positioned after the grating to receive at least one refracted order of light of at least one beam and to redirect the beam back towards the grating, and a micro-electro-mechanical systems device containing a plurality of adjustable micro-mirrors.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laser system comprising:
a plurality of beam emitters each forming an external lasing cavity with an external optical element, whereby each lasing cavity stabilizes a beam emitted by the beam emitter to a different wavelength; and
disposed outside and optically downstream of each external lasing cavity, a diffraction grating positioned to receive the stabilized beams, diffract each beam, and direct first-order diffracted light from each beam toward a common direction to thereby form a multi-wavelength output beam.

2. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein the external lasing cavities each share a common external optical element.

3. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein each external optical element comprises a reflector.

4. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein the beam emitters are mechanically positioned so that the beams emitted thereby converge toward the diffraction grating.

5. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein the diffraction grating comprises a reflective diffraction grating.

6. The laser system of claim 1 , further comprising a second optical element configured to collimate and/or focus the output beam downstream of the diffraction grating.

7. The laser system of claim 1 , further comprising a second optical element configured to converge beams emitted by the beam emitters toward the diffraction grating.

8. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein each beam emitter comprises a laser diode.

9. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein each beam emitter comprises a quantum cascade laser.

10. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein each beam emitter is lensed with collimating optics.

11. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein each beam emitter emits visible light.

12. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein the common direction of the reflected first-order diffracted light is away from the plurality of beam emitters.

13. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein the common direction of the reflected first-order diffracted light is approximately perpendicular to a propagation direction of light emitted by at least one of the beam emitters toward the diffraction grating.

14. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein the diffraction grating has a grating dispersion of at least 150 lines per millimeter.

15. The laser system of claim 1 , wherein wavelengths of the beams emitted by the beam emitters are linearly chirped.

16. A laser system of claim 1 comprising:
a plurality of beam emitters each forming an external lasing cavity with an external optical element, whereby each lasing cavity stabilizes a beam emitted by the beam emitter to a different wavelength; and
a diffraction grating positioned to receive the stabilized beams, diffract each beam, and direct first-order diffracted light from each beam toward a common direction to thereby form a multi-wavelength output beam,
wherein the external optical element in each external lasing cavity is rotatable for wavelength selection.

17. A laser system comprising:
a plurality of beam emitters each forming an external lasing cavity with an external optical element, whereby each lasing cavity stabilizes a beam emitted by the beam emitter to a different wavelength; and
a diffraction grating positioned to receive the stabilized beams, diffract each beam, and direct first-order diffracted light from each beam toward a common direction to thereby form a multi-wavelength output beam,
wherein the external optical elements are each a reflector in an array of reflectors.

18. The laser system of claim 17 , wherein the array of reflectors is at least a portion of a micro-electro-mechanical systems device.

19. The laser system of claim 17 , wherein the array of reflectors is at least a portion of a digital light processing chip.

20. The laser system of claim 17 , wherein each of the reflectors within the array of reflectors is individually controllable.

Assignees

• Chann Bien
• Huang Robin
• Tayebati Parviz
• Panasonic Connect North America Div Of Panasonic Corporation Of North America

Inventors

• Chann Bien
• Huang Robin
• Tayebati Parviz

Classifications

• H01S3/101

  Lasers provided with means to change the location from which, or the direction in which, laser radiation is emitted · CPC title

• H01S5/02255

  using beam deflecting elements · CPC title

• H01S3/0635

  provided with a periodic structure, e.g. using distributed feed-back, grating couplers (controlling, e.g. modulating distributed feed-back lasers H01S3/102) · CPC title

• H01S5/143

  Littman-Metcalf configuration, e.g. laser - grating - mirror · CPC title

• B01L2300/0851

  Bottom walls · CPC title