LASER DEVICE

• Main Authors: RAE, CAMERON FRANCIS, DUNN, MALCOLM HARRY, DAWBER, WILLIAM, WANG, JIAN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 15.03.2005
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS, THE OPTICAL OPERATION OF WHICH ISMODIFIED BY CHANGING THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIUM OF THEDEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF THE INTENSITY,COLOUR, PHASE, POLARISATION OR DIRECTION OF LIGHT, e.g.SWITCHING, GATING, MODULATING OR DEMODULATING; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION; ELECTRICITY; FREQUENCY-CHANGING; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICS; PHYSICS; TECHNIQUES OR PROCEDURES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF; TESTING

A laser device comprises a non-collinear optical parametric generator (OPG) and a pump wave source (4). The OPG comprises a non-linear crystal (1) fixedly mounted within the generator wherein the relative orientations of the pump wave (3) and each generated wave (5) to an optic axis (2) of the non-linear crystal (1) are substantially such that a point of inflexion is produced in a tuning curve of wavelength versus pump wave orientation of one of the generated waves, such that a broadband spectral output is obtained. This device has many applications including an amplifier for an input seed wave in which the crystal does not have to be rotated to match the wavelength of the seed wave; or as part of a continuously tuneable narrowband source. Other applications are in spectra l analysis and coherence tomography.