Patent ID: 7430231

Claim:
A laser device comprising: an active laser gain medium; an optical cavity having a set of passive optical elements; a pump assembly for generation of incoherent or partially coherent, monochromatic excitation light and for efficient and uniform injection of the excitation light into said active laser gain medium; and a housing assembly, containing the optical cavity, the active laser gain medium, and the pump assembly; wherein: said housing assembly physically protects the laser system and effectively dissipates the heat generated during laser operation; said pump assembly further comprising: an excitation element having a two-dimensional VCSEL array to produce incoherent or partially coherent, monochromatic excitation light and a power supply, electrically connected to the excitation element at the array level, for energizing the excitation element to produce the excitation light; and a tubular diffusing pump chamber, its cross-section is shaped with two or more overlapping parabolic section(s), wherein the two-dimensional VCSEL array forms one side of the chamber, the rest part of the pump chamber surface is a reflector to the excitation wavelength, the pump chamber effectively surrounds the active laser gain medium and in axial alignment with the gain medium, the central axis of the active laser gain medium is located at or near the focus of the chamber, whereby a population of the active species becomes substantially inverted in response to excitation by incoherent or partially coherent monochromatic pump light, and the effects of the excitation light on the gain medium is enhanced through multiple bounces from the inner surface of the pump chamber.