Coherent light generators – Particular beam control device – Producing plural wavelength output
Patent
1997-11-17
1999-04-13
Scott, Jr., Leon
Coherent light generators
Particular beam control device
Producing plural wavelength output
372 22, H01S 0000
Patent
active
058944893
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The application relates to a laser system according to the preamble of Claims 1 and 2. Such a laser system is known from International Patent Document WO 91/12556. That document describes the producing of suitable red/green/blue beams by means of at least one--in this case, two--IR continuous-wave lasers (laser diode) in the wavelength range of 850-1,320 nm, in which the colors are obtained by using frequency doubling and summation frequency formation, and an optical parametric oscillator is used for the frequency conversion.
From German Patent Document DE 43 06 797 C1, a laser system for producing the suitable red/green/blue beams for a general color picture projection by means of at least one--in this case, three, lasers is known.
From Appl. Phys. Lett. 58 (12), Mar. 25, 1991, pages 1227-1229, a laser system is known for producing the suitable red/green/blue beams for particularly high-resolving laser printers having at least one--in this case, two--IR continuous-wave lasers (laser diode) in the wavelength range of 850 to 1,320 nm, in which the colors are obtained by frequency conversion, specifically by using frequency doubling and summation frequency formation.
From Appl. Phys. Lett. 56 (9), Feb. 26, 1990, Page 811-813, a laser system is known for producing the suitable red/green/blue beams for a general color picture projection by means of a single laser.
From Optics Letters, Oct. 15, 1990, Vol. 15, No. 20, Page 1129-1131, it is known to use the signal wave as well as the idler wave of an OPO and from J. Opt. Soc. Am.B., Volume 10, No. 11, November 93, Page 2151, it is known to enlarge the tuning range of a light source by combining frequency doubling and/or summation frequency forming steps with a stimulated parametric interaction. Optical parametric oscillators (OPO's) are known, for example, from German Patent Document DE 42 19 169 A1.
The invention is based on the object of further developing a laser system of the initially mentioned type such that it has a high beaming quality with a beam diameter.times.beam divergence product close to the diffraction limit and has certain colors in the visible wavelength range (RGB) which permit a good overlapping of the color sensitivity range of the human eye by color mixing; has a median optical power of several hundred milliwatts to a few watts and is optimized by a small construction with a good efficiency. All three colors are to be produced in a single laser system with the above-mentioned requirements.
This object is achieved by the measures indicated in Claims 1 and 2. Developments and further developments are indicated in the subclaims and are described in the following by means of embodiments.
In this concept, an efficient IR continuous-wave laser, which uses rare-earth or transition elements, forms the single larger active electro-optical componentry of the system. For reaching the required long life and high efficiency, it is suggested that semiconductor laser diodes be used for exciting the IR continuous-wave laser which operates with rate-earth or transition elements.
The RGB (red, green, blue) effective beams are derived from the IR emission of the IR continuous-wave laser, which operates with rare-earth or transition elements, by means of a simple passive non-linear frequency conversion. By means of the common excitation source for all colors, the complexity of the system is minimized. By means of the intermittent IR continuous-wave laser, which operates with rare-earth or transition elements, of a high pulse peak power, a high efficiency of the frequency conversion is achieved. In the OPO, the intermediate frequencies and thus also the wavelength of the effective radiation can be continuously tuned for the color adaptation.
The FIGURE shows a schematic representation of a possible embodiment of the laser system. The green radiation in the wavelength range of 510-550 nm is obtained by a direct frequency doubling of the radiation of an IR solid-state laser, such as the well-known Nd:YAG laser or related lasers, such as the Nd:YLF or Yb:YAG. From
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Graener Heinrich
Halldorsson Thorsteinn
Koniger Max
Mehnert Axel
Peuser Peter
Daimler-Benz AG
Jr. Leon Scott
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