Patent ID: 7733932
Filing Date: 2010-06-08
Classification: G02B,H01S,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An apparatus disposed in a region having a plurality of vertical sides comprising at least a first side, a second side, a third side, and a fourth side, wherein each of the second and fourth sides is between the first side and the third side, and each of the first and third sides is between the second side and the fourth side, the apparatus comprising: (1) a plurality of laser diodes arranged to emit laser beams into the region in a direction or directions away from the first side, wherein the laser diodes' emitters are at different distances from at least one of the second and fourth sides; and (2) optics for directing the laser beams to an output window, the optics comprising: (2a) collimator optics for collimating the laser beams; (2b) a first beam-redirector for directing the collimated beams to travel adjacent to the third side with the beams' slow axes overlying one another in a vertical cross section transverse to the beams; (2c) a second beam-redirector for directing the beams received from the first beam-redirector to travel adjacent to the fourth side; and (2d) focusing optics for converging the beams traveling from the second redirector to the output window; wherein the apparatus comprises: a plurality of laser diode structures, each laser diode structure comprising a discrete semiconductor structure comprising one or more of said laser diodes; a plurality of generally flat, heat-dissipating surface regions for dissipating heat generated by the laser diodes, each laser diode structure being rigidly attached to a corresponding one of the flat, heat dissipating surface regions; wherein each laser diode structure is associated with a portion of the collimator optics and the first beam-redirector for collimating and directing the beam or beams emitted by the laser diode structure, the portion being rigidly attached to the corresponding flat, heat-dissipating surface region, wherein the portions are spaced from each other.