Claims
- 1. An apparatus for improving the quality and power of laser beams, comprising:(a) an elongated reflector, said elongated reflector comprising a highly-reflective inner surface, said highly-reflective inner surface defining a hemi-parabolic curvature along the length of said elongated reflector, and said highly-reflective inner surface having a focal line corresponding to said curvature; and (b) a laser beam emitter, said laser beam emitter including a plurality of laser sources capable of emitting a plurality of laser beams, said laser beam emitter being positioned in relation to the focal line of said highly-reflective inner surface such that all of the laser beams from the plurality of laser sources are capable of being simultaneously emitted onto and reflected off of said highly-reflective inner surface of said elongated reflector.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said laser beam emitter comprises at least one diode laser bar.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said laser beam emitter comprises at least one red diode laser bar.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said laser beam emitter comprises at least one infrared diode laser bar.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said laser beam emitter comprises at least one broad area laser diode.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said laser beam emitter comprises at least one red broad area laser diode.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said laser beam emitter comprises at least one infrared broad area laser diode.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an outer base, said outer base comprising a material that permits dissipation of heat generated by said plurality of laser sources.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said material comprises copper.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the laser beams are collimated upon reflection off of said highly-reflective inner surface.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the laser beams converge upon reflection off of said highly-reflective inner surface.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the laser beams diverge upon reflection off of said highly-reflective inner surface.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said highly-reflective inner surface is coated with aluminum or nickel.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one lens outside of said elongated reflector in the path of the laser beams reflected off said highly-reflective inner surface.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one mirror outside of said elongated reflector in the path of the laser beams reflected off said highly-reflective inner surface.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one non-linear crystal outside of said elongated reflector in the path of the laser beams reflected off said highly-reflective inner surface.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said non-linear crystal comprises a material selected from the group consisting of lithium tantalate, potassium titanyl phosphate, and lithium niobate.
- 18. An apparatus for improving the quality and power of laser beams, comprising:(a) an elongated reflector, said elongated reflector comprising a highly-reflective inner surface, said highly-reflective inner surface defining a hemi-parabolic curvature along the length of said elongated reflector, and said highly-reflective inner surface having a focal line corresponding to said curvature; and (b) a laser beam emitter comprising at least one broad area laser diode, said laser beam emitter capable of emitting at least one laser beam, said laser beam emitter being positioned in relation to the focal line of said highly-reflective inner surface such that the laser beam is emitted onto and reflected off of said highly-reflective inner surface of said elongated reflector.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said broad area laser diode comprises a red broad area laser diode.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said broad area laser diode comprises an infrared broad area laser diode.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/990,375, filed Dec. 15, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,289.
US Referenced Citations (26)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
W.A. Clarkson and D.C. Hanna, “Two-Mirro Beam-Shaping Technique for High-Power Diode Bars,” Optics Letters, vol. 21, No. 6, pp. 375-377, Mar. 15, 1996. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/990375 |
Dec 1997 |
US |
Child |
09/430759 |
|
US |