Laser ignition device for an internal combustion engine and operating method therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9651017-B2
Application number	US-201113879569-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 8, 2011
Priority date	Oct 14, 2010
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

A laser ignition device for an internal combustion engine, having a laser device, which has a laser-active solid body and a passive Q-switch, and having a pump light source for optically pumping the laser device. The pump light source has a plurality of surface-emitting semiconductor lasers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laser ignition device for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
a laser device, integrated directly into a laser spark plug, the laser device having a laser-active solid body and a passive Q-switch; and
a pump light source to optically pump the laser device, the pump light source including a plurality of vertical cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers (VCSEL);
a light-conducting device via which pump radiation generated by the pump light source is radiated into the laser device;
wherein the light-conducting device has one of the following shapes: cone, prism, cuboid, pyramid, or cylinder,
wherein the light-conducting device is at least partially formed from at least one of glass, crystalline, and ceramic material, and
wherein the light-conducting device contacts at least one of the pump light source and the laser device, one of directly or with the aid of a contact medium.

2. The laser ignition device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the pump light source includes a plurality of surface-emitting semiconductor lasers arranged spatially separated from one another in groups of semiconductor lasers, and pump radiation generated by the groups of semiconductor lasers is radiated one of directly or via focusing optics, into the laser device.

3. The laser ignition device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the pump light source has multiple pump light units, a first pump light unit being situated and configured so that it longitudinally pumps the laser device, and at least one further pump light unit being configured and situated so that it transversely pumps the laser device.

4. The laser ignition device as recited in claim 3 , wherein the pump light units provided for the transverse optical pumping each have a strip-shaped flat arrangement, which extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the laser device.

5. The laser ignition device as recited in claim 3 , wherein at least one of the pump light units, which is provided for the transverse optical pumping, is assigned a cylinder lens for bundling the pump radiation into the laser device.

6. A method for operating a laser ignition device for an internal combustion engine, the method comprising:
optically pumping a laser device of the laser ignition device using a plurality of vertical cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers (VCSEL), wherein the laser device is integrated directly into a laser spark plug, and wherein the laser device has a laser-active solid body and a passive Q-switch; and
optically pumping, via a pump light source, the laser device, wherein the pump light source includes the plurality of the vertical cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers;
radiating, via a light-conducting device, pump radiation generated by the pump light source into the laser device;
wherein the light-conducting device has one of the following shapes: cone, prism, cuboid, pyramid, or cylinder,
wherein the light-conducting device is at least partially formed from at least one of glass, crystalline, and ceramic material, and
wherein the light-conducting device contacts at least one of the pump light source and the laser ignition device, one of directly or with the aid of a contact medium.

7. The method as recited in claim 6 , wherein different volume areas of the laser device or the laser-active solid body have pump light applied to them separately.

8. The method as recited in claim 7 , wherein multiple laser pulses are generated simultaneously.

9. The method as recited in claim 6 , wherein the laser device is longitudinally pumped with the aid of a first pump light unit, and the laser device is transversely pumped with the aid of at least one further pump light unit.

10. The method as recited in claim 7 , wherein the first pump light unit generates pump radiation having a circular beam cross section.

11. The method as recited in claim 6 , wherein the pump light source includes a plurality of surface-emitting semiconductor lasers arranged spatially separated from one another in groups of semiconductor lasers, and pump radiation generated by the groups of semiconductor lasers is radiated one of directly or via focusing optics, into the laser device.

12. The method as recited in claim 6 , wherein the pump light source has multiple pump light units, a first pump light unit being situated and configured so that it longitudinally pumps the laser device, and at least one further pump light unit being configured and situated so that it transversely pumps the laser device.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 , wherein the pump light units provided for the transverse optical pumping each have a strip-shaped flat arrangement, which extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the laser device.

14. The method as recited in claim 12 , wherein at least one of the pump light units, which is provided for the transverse optical pumping, is assigned a cylinder lens for bundling the pump radiation into the laser device.

Assignees

• Hartke Rene
• Ridderbusch Heiko
• Bosch Gmbh Robert

Inventors

• Hartke Rene
• Ridderbusch Heiko

Classifications

• H01S3/094057

  by tapered duct or homogenized light pipe, e.g. for concentrating pump light · CPC title

• H01S5/183

  having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL] · CPC title

• H01S3/09415

  the pumping beam being parallel to the lasing mode of the pumped medium, e.g. end-pumping · CPC title

• H01S3/113

  using intracavity saturable absorbers · CPC title

• H01S3/0627

  the resonator being monolithic, e.g. microlaser · CPC title