Patent ID: 8964800
Filing Date: 2015-02-24
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
1. A laser apparatus comprising: a solid state gain medium; a first mirror spaced from the solid state gain medium to define an air gap and wherein the first mirror is a saturable absorber and wherein said solid state gain medium includes a partly reflecting coating locating on the side of the solid state gain medium opposite to the first mirror, said partly reflecting coating defining an output coupler and wherein the first mirror and the output coupler define an optical resonator; a first carrier for supporting the solid state gain medium; a second carrier for supporting the first mirror; and a spacer extending across said air gap and being connected to both said first and second carriers, said spacer having a coefficient of thermal expansion selected so that when a temperature of the laser is changed, the width of the air gap will vary in a manner to adjust an optical path length of the optical resonator.