Fiber-based continuous wave blue laser source

Details Fiber-based continuous wave blue laser source Fiber-based continuous wave blue laser source

1997-03-24

2000-01-11

Healy, Brian

Coherent light generators

Optical fiber laser

372 39, 372 40, 372 68, 359341, 359343, 385141, 385123, 385 42, 385 45, H01S 330, H01S 300, G02B 600

Patent

active

060143894

ABSTRACT:
A compact, continuous-wave blue laser is developed from a fiber made from heavy metal fluorides ("ZBLAN") doped with a rare-earth ion. The footprint required to create blue laser light is reduced because the fiber can be wound into spools of radius <25 mm and stacked one atop the other without cross talk. IR diodes (.lambda..about.790 nm and .lambda..about.1050 nm) are fiber-pigtailed to silica fiber in a conventional way. The light from the IR diodes is coupled to a single fiber through a 2.times.1 fiber coupler that has silica inputs and a ZBLAN output. The IR light optically excites the electrons of the rare-earth ions in the ZBLAN fiber host. This excitation causes the electrons to emit light at 480 nm (in the blue region of the visible spectrum) as they relax to the ground state. Dielectric mirrors feed back the emitted light. A high-reflector, high-transmitter ("HRHT") is the input coupler of the pumping light; a partial reflector, the output coupler. A graded index ("GRIN") lens is attached, at the end of the output coupler from which the emitted laser beam exits, to improve the quality of the emitted beam.

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American Association for the Advancement of Science dated Mar. 21, 1997, vol. 275, No. 5307, "Staying Off Beaten Track Puts LED Researchers a Step Ahead", pp. 1734, 1735.

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