Patent ID: 7894493
Filing Date: 2011-02-22
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
1. A laser comprising: a laser resonator terminated by first and second mirrors; a gain-element located in the laser resonator; an arrangement for optically pumping the gain-element, the optical pumping causing fundamental radiation to circulate in the laser-resonator; the laser resonator being folded by a plurality of fold-mirrors on which the circulating radiation is incident at a non-normal angle of incidence, selected ones of the fold-mirrors being coated with one of a plurality of multilayer coating designs, each thereof arranged to impart a predetermined group delay dispersion (GDD) as a function of wavelength to the fundamental radiation incident thereon at a predetermined angle of incidence thereon, the fundamental radiation having a spectrum dependent on the resonator configuration, the gain-element, and the GDD imparted by each of the selected ones of the fold-mirrors; and wherein the GDD as a function of wavelength of each of the selected ones of the fold-mirrors and the angle of incidence of circulating radiation on each of the selected ones of the fold-mirrors are selected such that the spectrum of the circulating radiation has one of first and second non-Gaussian forms, the first form characterized as having one of a region of about uniform intensity with intensity falling to zero on either side of the region, and the second form characterized as having at least two intensity peaks with an intensity trough therebetween.