Patent ID: 11955766
Assignee: AMPLITUDE, INC.
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A very high-rate laser system comprising:
a mode-locking oscillator configured to generate a source laser beam comprising a series of source pulses of femtosecond or picosecond duration, at a first repetition frequency higher than or equal to 800 megahertz;
an optical amplifier system configured to receive and amplify the series of source pulses to a second repetition frequency equal to or multiple of the first repetition frequency, the multiple being a natural integer number higher than or equal to two, to generate a series of laser pulses of very high repetition frequency; and
a repetition frequency multiplier device disposed between the oscillator and the optical amplifier system, the repetition frequency multiplier device comprising
a first optical coupler-splitter configured to spatially split the source laser beam into a first pulse beam at the first repetition frequency and a second pulse beam at the first repetition frequency,
a second optical coupler-splitter having a first output,
a first optical delay line disposed between the first optical coupler-splitter and the second optical coupler-splitter on a trajectory of the second pulse beam at the first repetition frequency, the first optical delay line being configured to induce an optical delay equal to a half-period of the first repetition frequency on the second pulse beam and to generate a second pulse beam, delayed by a half-period, and
a second optical coupler-splitter having a first output, the second optical coupler-splitter being configured to recombine the first pulse beam and the second pulse beam, delayed by a half-period, and to form on the first output a first recombined beam in which the pulses are rated at the second repetition frequency equal to twice the first repetition frequency.