Patent ID: 9083140
Filing Date: 2015-07-14
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
1. A laser apparatus, comprising: a gain fiber having first and second opposite ends and having a fundamental emission wavelength for laser radiation, the gain-fiber providing optical gain over a characteristic gain-bandwidth; a laser resonator defined by the first end of the gain-fiber and a mirror proximity-coupled to the second end of the gain-fiber; a source of optical pump-radiation having a pump-radiation wavelength; the mirror being highly reflective for wavelengths within the gain-bandwidth of the fiber, highly reflective for the pump-radiation wavelength, and highly transmissive for radiation having wavelengths longer than the gain-bandwidth; an optical arrangement configured to focus at least a substantial portion of the pump-radiation into the first end of the gain-fiber thereby causing laser-radiation at a natural wavelength within the gain-bandwidth to be generated in the laser-resonator, and delivered from the first end of the gain-fiber as output radiation; and wherein the gain-fiber is configured and arranged such that the generated and delivered radiation is multiple-lateral-mode radiation and has a radiation spectrum comprising a plurality of oscillation peaks at different wavelengths, and the mirror has a long-wavelength transmission cut-on wavelength, and wherein the transmission cut-on wavelength is between about 20% and 80% of a Stokes shift of the shortest wavelength of one of the oscillation peaks.