Slab laser and amplifier and method of use

Abstract

A slab laser and its method of use for high power applications including the manufacture of semiconductors and deposition of diamond and/or diamond-like-carbon layers, among other materials. A lamp driven slab design with a face-to-face beam propagation scheme and an end reflection that redirects the amplified radiation back out the same input surface is utilized. A side-to-side amplifier configuration permitting very high average and peak powers having scalability is also disclosed. Cavity filters adjacent to pump lamps convert the normally unusable UV portion of the pump lamp spectrum into light in the absorption band of the slab laser, thereby increasing the overall pump efficiency. The angle of the end reflecting surface is changed to cause the exit beam to be at a different angle than the inlet beam, thereby eliminating the costly need to separate the beams external to the laser with the subsequent loss of power.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laser device comprising:
 a pump light source comprising one or more lamps configured to emit light; and   a crystal having at least a front face and back face each configured to reflect a laser beam internally within said crystal, said crystal being configured to absorb energy obtained from said emitted light, wherein   the crystal is configured to receive an input laser beam in the front face of the crystal, with the crystal configured such that the input laser beam passes through the crystal at least four times while being amplified by the crystal using said received light energy, and wherein   the input laser beam is thereby converted by the crystal into an amplified laser beam emitted from the crystal.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the crystal is configured such that the amplified laser beam is emitted from the front face of the crystal at some angle or distance from the input light beam. 
     
     
         3 . A system comprising a plurality of the laser devices of  claim 1  formed into a string of light amplifiers such that a laser beam output of a previous one of the laser devices operates as an input to a subsequent one of the laser devices for amplification. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the crystal includes chromium doped alexandrite. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein said emitted light is comprised of two frequency bands, wherein the first frequency band is substantially an ultraviolet light frequency band and wherein the second frequency band is comprised of frequencies that are less than the frequencies of ultraviolet light, and wherein said absorbed energy includes energy from each of said first and second frequency bands. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 5 , further comprising a filter material provided between said crystal and said pump light source, said filter material configured to convert light from said second frequency band into light in said first frequency band for providing part of the energy for absorption by said crystal. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein said crystal is formed into a slab comprising four sides such that said energy is absorbed by one of said sides. 
     
     
         8 . The laser device of  claim 7 , wherein the emitted laser beam is emitted from the face of the crystal that is provided at an acute angle with respect to one of said sides of the crystal and is provided at an oblique angle with respect to another of said sides of the crystal. 
     
     
         9 . The laser device of  claim 1 , wherein the pump light source is a mercury lamp. 
     
     
         10 . A laser device comprising:
 a pump light source comprising one or more lamps configured to emit light; and   a slab crystal having a front face and a back face each configured to reflect a laser beam internally within said crystal, said slab crystal also having four sides, said slab crystal being configured to absorb energy from said light illuminating at least one of said sides of the slab crystal, wherein   the slab crystal is configured to receive an input laser beam in the front face of the slab crystal, with the slab crystal configured such that the input laser beam passes through the slab crystal a plurality of times while being amplified by the slab crystal using said light energy, and wherein   the input laser beam is thereby converted by the slab crystal into an amplified laser beam emitted from one of the faces of the slab crystal.   
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the crystal is configured such that the amplified laser beam is emitted from the front face of the slab crystal at some angle or distance from the input laser beam. 
     
     
         12 . A system comprising a plurality of the laser devices of  claim 10  formed into a string of light amplifiers such that a laser beam output of a previous one of the laser devices operates as an input to a subsequent one of the laser devices for amplification. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the slab crystal includes chromium doped alexandrite. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein said emitted light is comprised of two frequency bands, wherein the first frequency band is substantially an ultraviolet light frequency band and wherein the second frequency band is comprised of frequencies that are less than the frequencies of ultraviolet light, and wherein said absorbed energy includes energy from each of said first and second frequency bands. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 5 , further comprising a filter material provided between said slab crystal and said pump light source, said filter material configured to convert light from said second frequency band into light in said first frequency band for providing part of the energy for absorption by said slab crystal. 
     
     
         16 . The laser device of  claim 10 , wherein the emitted laser beam is emitted from the face of the crystal that is provided at an acute angle with respect to one of said sides of the crystal and is provided at an oblique angle with respect to another of said sides of the crystal. 
     
     
         17 . The laser device of  claim 10 , wherein the pump light source is a mercury lamp. 
     
     
         18 . The laser device of  claim 10 , wherein the input laser beam passes through the slab crystal at least four times while being amplified by the slab crystal. 
     
     
         19 . A laser device comprising:
 a pump light source comprising one or more lamps configured to emit a wide spectrum of light energy;   a slab crystal having a front face and a back face each configured to reflect a laser beam internally within said crystal, said slab crystal also having four sides;   a filter material disposed between said pump light source and said slab crystal, said filter material being configured to be transparent to a first portion of said spectrum of light energy, said filter material also being configured to convert a second portion of said spectrum of light energy from one frequency to another frequency,   wherein at least one side of said slab crystal is configured to absorb energy from said first portion of said spectrum of light energy and to also absorb energy from said second portion of said light energy, and wherein   said slab crystal is configured to receive an input laser beam in the front face of the slab crystal, with the slab crystal configured such that the input laser beam passes through the slab crystal at least four times while being amplified by the slab crystal using said light energy, and further wherein   the input laser beam is thereby converted by the slab crystal into an amplified laser beam emitted from the front face of the slab crystal.   
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 19 , wherein the filter material includes terbium fluoride doped with samarium. 
     
     
         21 . The device of  claim 19 , wherein the slab crystal includes chromium doped alexandrite.