Abstract:
In certain embodiments, a first semiconductor material is vaporized to generate a vapor phase condensate. The vapor phase condensate is allowed to form nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are annealed to yield nanoparticles or cores. The cores are overcoated by introducing a solution containing second semiconductor material precursors in a coordinating solvent into a suspension of cores at a desired elevated temperature and mixing for a period of time sufficient to cause diffusion of the shell into the core. The diffusion of the shell into the core causes the quantum dots to exhibit a broadened optical emission. The produced quantum dots may be incorporated into a quantum dot based radiation source.
Abstract:
A modulated saturable absorber controlled laser. The laser includes an active medium (12); a saturable absorber material (18) operationally coupled to the medium to serve as a passive Q switch; and an energy source (20) disposed external to the medium for apply energy to the absorber. In particular embodiments, the energy source is a diode laser and focusing optics are included between the diode laser and the absorber. Modulation of the gain at the photon round trip time in the laser resonator causes a mode-locked laser output. A dichroic beamsplitter (24) is included in this embodiment for directing energy to the absorber. In an alternative embodiment, the diode laser is a quasi-monolithic diode laser assembly ring (27).
Abstract:
A system for imaging a biological target includes a light excitation source providing an excitation laser pulse. The system also includes an objective lens that receives reflections of the excitation laser pulse. The system further includes a reimaging optical lens that generates an image of an entrance pupil of the objective lens. The system includes a time- delayed detector that detects the image of the entrance pupil.
Abstract:
A method includes creating a gas flow in a gas cell (110) and cooling a portion of the gas flow to create a thermally-induced temperature gradient in the gas flow. The method also includes directing at least one laser beam (104) through at least a portion of the gas flow with the thermally-induced temperature gradient. The gas flow can be directed axially along a length of the gas cell or transverse to the length of the gas cell, and the at least one laser beam can be directed axially along the length of the gas cell through at least the portion of the gas flow. The gas flow may represent a first gas flow, and the method may further include creating a second gas flow in the gas cell and cooling a portion of the second gas flow to create a thermally-induced temperature gradient in the second gas flow.
Abstract:
A laser system and method. The inventive laser includes an annular gain medium; a source of pump energy; and an arrangement for concentrating energy from the source on the gain medium. In a more specific implementation, a mechanism is included for rotating the gain medium to effect extraction of pump energy and cooling. In the illustrative embodiment, the pump source is a diode array. Energy from the array is coupled to the medium via an array of optical fibers. The outputs of the fibers are input to a concentrator that directs the pump energy onto a pump region of the medium. In the best mode, plural disks of gain media are arranged in an offset manner to provide a single resonator architecture. First and second mirrors are added to complete the resonator, hi accordance with the inventive teachings, a method for pumping and cooling a laser is taught. In the illustrative embodiment, the inventive method includes the steps of providing a gain medium; pumping energy into a region of the gain medium; moving the medium; extracting energy from the region of the medium; and cooling region of the medium.
Abstract:
A solid-state suspension laser (10). The novel laser (10) includes a gain medium (12) comprised of a plurality of solid-state gain particles (26) suspended in a fluid (28). The laser (10) also includes a pump source (20) for pumping the gain particles (26) and a resonator (14) for amplifying and outputting laser light generated by the gain medium (12). In an illustrative embodiment, the gain medium (12) is adapted to flow, and the pumping of the gain medium (12) occurs outside of the resonator (14). The flow velocities and the densities of the gain particles (26) in the gain medium (12) can be optimized for optimal absorption efficiency during the pumping and/or for optimal extraction efficiency in the resonator (14) as well as for overall laser performance optimization, including power, efficiency and beam quality scalability.
Abstract:
An inherently efficient direct eye-safe laser based on Er:Crystal technology utilizing intra-cavity energy conversion. The Er:Crystal laser is intra-cavity pumped by a highly efficient ytterbium or neodymium crystal laser (64), which is in-turn, pumped by conventional infrared diodes array bars (52, 54). The laser is inherently compact and low cost allowing for significant scaling of the output energy and power with greatly reduced number of required diode pump sources. This intra-cavity pump scheme of appropriate Er:Crystals also provides for efficient generation of ultra-short Q-switched pulse operation of such lasers.
Abstract:
A synthesizer is provided having a controller configured to receive a first signal. A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is coupled to the controller and configured to generate a voltage bias based on the first signal. The voltage bias corresponds to a target resonant frequency. A semiconductor laser is coupled to the DAC and configured to receive a second signal tone. The semiconductor laser generates a plurality of tone signals having octave multiples of a base sub-harmonic tone of the second signal tone.
Abstract:
A synthesizer includes a first resonator mirror, a second resonator mirror, and a gain medium disposed within a laser resonator cavity defined by the first resonator mirror and the second resonator mirror. The synthesizer includes a saturable absorber operationally coupled to the gain medium and having active control such that the saturable absorber is configured to generate a waveform via an injection locking signal to create a mode locking effect, the waveform having a frequency comb defined by dimensions of the gain medium. The synthesizer also includes a crystal electro-optical modulator disposed within the laser resonator cavity. The waveform passes through the modulator to impinge on a photodiode to output an emission RF waveform. Changing the voltage applied to the modulator changes the index of refraction of the modulator, altering an optical path length of the laser resonator cavity to adjust a frequency of the emission RF waveform.
Abstract:
An optical system for capturing an image using compressive sensing includes a digital micromirror device (DMD) array; an optical lens system; a first optical detector array; a first optical channel for projecting spatial information onto the first detector array; a second optical detector array; a second optical channel; a spectral filter and a polarization filter for projecting spectral and polarization information onto the second detector array; and an image processor to control the DMD array to generate a first and a second set of samples of the image using a sampling rate lower than required by the Shannon-Nyquist sampling theorem, and to reconstruct the image from the samples collected and digitized by the first and second optical detector arrays.