Liran Shimshi

Intracavity coherent addition of 16 laser distributions

The efficient intracavity coherent addition of 16 separate laser Gaussian mode distributions is presented. The coherent addition is achieved in a multichannel pulsed Nd:YAG laser resonator by use of four intracavity interferometric beam combiners. The results reveal 88% combining efficiency with a combined output beam of nearly pure Gaussian distribution.

Coherent addition of spatially incoherent light beams.

We report on efficient coherent addition of spatially incoherent multimode laser beam distributions. Such addition is demonstrated within a multi-channel laser resonator configuration, obtaining more than 90% combining efficiency while preserving the good beam quality. We explain the rather surprising physical phenomenon of coherently adding spatially incoherent light by self-phase-locking of each of the modal components within the multimode beams. Our approach could lead to significantly higher output powers concomitantly with good beam qualities than were hitherto possible in laser systems.

Intracavity coherent addition of Gaussian beam distributions using a planar interferometric coupler

We present a compact and practical combined laser resonator configuration in which several Gaussian beam distributions are efficiently combined. It is based on intracavity coherent addition of pairs of Gaussian beam distributions with a planar interferometric coupler. The principle, configuration, and experimental results using pulsed Nd:YAG laser beams are presented. The results reveal more than 92% combining efficiency with a nearly Gaussian output beam, in free running and Q-switched operation.

Improving the output beam quality of multimode laser resonators.

Multimode laser operation is usually characterized by high output power, yet its beam quality is inferior to that of a laser with single TEM00 mode operation. Here we present an efficient approach for improving the beam quality of multimode laser resonators. The approach is based on splitting the intra-cavity multimode beam into an array of smaller beams, each with a high quality beam distribution, which are coherently added within the resonator. The coupling between the beams in the array and their coherent addition is achieved with planar interferometric beam combiners. Experimental verification, where the intra-cavity multimode beam in a pulsed Nd:YAG laser resonator is split into four Gaussian beams that are then coherently added, provides a total increase in brightness of one order of magnitude. Additional spectral measurements indicate that scaling to larger coherent arrays is possible.

Mode-matched phase diffractive optical element for detecting laser modes with spiral phases

A new type of diffractive optical element for detecting and measuring the power distribution of transverse modes emanating from radially symmetric laser resonators is presented. It is based on a relatively simple straightforward design of a phase-only diffractive optical element that serves as a matched filter, which correlates between specific prerecorded transverse modes with a certain azimuthal mode order and those in the incident laser light. Computer simulations supported by experimental results demonstrate how such elements can accurately detect modes with spiral phases and provide quantitative results on the modal power distribution.

Laser operation with two orthogonally polarized transverse modes

Laser resonator configurations, which enable laser operation with two orthogonally polarized transverse modes, are presented. The intensity distributions of these two modes can be chosen to be complementary, so the gain medium can be exploited more efficiently than with a single mode, leading to improved output power. Moreover, the two modes can be combined and efficiently transformed into a single high-quality beam. Basic principles and experimental results with Nd:YAG lasers are presented.

Efficient mode transformations of degenerate Laguerre-Gaussian beams

We present an approach for efficient conversion of a single-high-order-mode distribution from a laser to a nearly Gaussian distribution and vice versa. It is based on dividing the high-order mode distribution into equal parts that are then combined together coherently. We implement our approach with several optical arrangements that include a combination of discrete elements and some with single interferometric elements. These arrangements are analyzed and experimentally evaluated for converting the TEM01 mode distribution with Mx(2) = 3 to a nearly Gaussian beam with Mx(2) = 1.045 or Mx(2) = 1.15. The basic principle, design, and experimental results obtained with several conversion arrangements are presented. The results reveal that conversion efficiency is typically greater than 90%, compared with theoretical ones. In addition, some arrangement is exploited for converting the fundamental Gaussian-beam distribution into the TEM01 mode distribution.

Intracavity coherent addition of single high-order modes

We report on efficient intracavity coherent addition of several single high-order mode distributions in a multichannel laser resonator. The phase locking and coherent addition is achieved by using an intracavity interferometric beam combiner. The principle, configuration, and experimental results with pulsed Nd:YAG Laguerre-Gaussian TEM01 and TEM02 laser beam distributions are presented. The results reveal more than 95% combining efficiency with a nearly pure high-order mode output beam distribution in both free-running and Q-switched operation.

Imposing a Gaussian distribution in multichannel laser resonators

Intracavity coherent addition of several laser channel distributions where one is a Gaussian distribution and the others are multimode distributions is investigated. It is shown experimentally that the Gaussian distribution is inherently imposed on all the channels. A model for analyzing coherent addition of two or four beams is developed and used to support the experimental results.

Passive intracavity coherent addition of nine laser distributions

A highly efficient intracavity coherent addition of nine individual laser distributions is presented. It is achieved with two passive interferometric combiners that are introduced into the combined laser cavity. The results reveal that the combined output power is greater by almost a factor of 9 compared to that of the single laser distributions, while the beam quality is the same.