Double Bragg-Grating Scanning- Transmitter/Receiver

Double Bragg grating scanner receivers (DBS) and methods thereof based on spinning high-efficiency transmitting or reflecting holograms in photo-thermo-refractive (PTRG) glass provides unlimited field of view while incident angle for all components do not exceed approximately 45 degrees. The devices and methods are highly tolerable to high power laser radiation and has no restriction for the use in any laser systems working in visible and near IR spectral regions. Rate of scanning by DBS is higher compared to known mechanical scanners because the use of thin glass plates with recorded holograms and spinning instead of rocking. The components described herein are holographic optical devices (reflecting and transmitting volume gratings) for visible and near IR spectral regions with absolute diffraction efficiency exceeding approximately 95% and high thermal, optical and mechanical stability

Sensitization of Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass to Visable Radiation by Two-Step Illumination (CIP)

Photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is a multi-component silicate glass having photosensitivity in rear UV region. A novel process is disclosed for PTR glass sensitization to visible region by means of two-step illumination followed by thermal development. This disclosed process utilizes a first illumination at approximately 325 nm followed by a second illumination with radiation in the visible spectral region out of the region of original photosensitivity of the PTR glass which enables fabrication of complex holographic optical elements for visible region such as plane elements, lenses, curved mirrors, combinations of complex elements and optical correlators. The same process provides a positive increment of refractive index in the bulk of the PTR glass and, therefore, can be used for refractive optical elements recording, such as lenses and waveguides

Volume Bragg Lasers Based on High Efficiency Diffractive Elements in Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass CIP

A volume Bragg laser including a resonator comprising photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) volume diffractive elements that can be used in a laser emitting window of transparency of PTR glass to provide control of the lasers spectral and angular parameters, and methods, devices, apparatus and systems related thereto. The high efficiency volume Bragg gratings recorded in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass preferably has an absolute diffraction efficiency exceeding approximately 95% in transmitting and reflecting modes is used for selection of a transverse and longitudinal mode for thermal, optical and mechanical stabilization of the volume Bragg lasers and coherent coupling of different lasers. Robustness, compactness, thermal and laser stability along with the ability to place several elements in the same space allows the use of sophisticated optical system according to the invention in fields of military lasers, optical communications, data storage and processing, and the like

Volume Bragg Lasers Based on High Efficiency Diffractive Elements in Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass

A volume Bragg laser including a resonator comprising photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) volume diffractive elements that can be used in a laser emitting window of transparency of PTR glass to provide control of the lasers spectral and angular parameters, and methods, devices, apparatus and systems related thereto. The high efficiency volume Bragg gratings recorded in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass preferably has an absolute diffraction efficiency exceeding approximately 95% in transmitting and reflecting modes is used for selection of a transverse and longitudinal mode for thermal, optical and mechanical stabilization of the volume Bragg lasers and coherent coupling of different lasers. Robustness, compactness, thermal and laser stability along with the ability to place several elements in the same space allows the use of sophisticated optical system according to the invention in fields of military lasers, optical communications, data storage and processing, and the like

Process for Production of High Efficiency Volume Diffractive Elements in Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass

A novel process is proposed for the volume diffractive element (Bragg grating) fabrication in photosensitive silicate glasses doped with silver, cerium, fluorine, and bromine. The process employs a photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass of high purity exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation of a He--Cd laser at 325 nm followed by thermal development at temperatures from 480.degree. C. to 580.degree. C., preferably at 520.degree. C., from several minutes to several hours. Absolute diffraction efficiency up to 95% was observed for 1 mm thick gratings. Maximum spatial frequency recorded in PTR glass was about of 10,000 mm.sup.-1. No decreasing of diffraction efficiency were detected at low spatial frequencies. Original glasses were transparent (absorption coefficient less than 1 cm.sup.-1) from 350 to 4100 nm. Induced losses in exposed and developed glass decreased from 0.3 to 0.03 cm.sup.-1 between 400 and 700 nm, respectively, and did not exceed 0.01-0.02 cm.sup.-1 in the infrared (IR) regi

High Efficiency Volume Diffractive Elements in Photo-Thermo-Refractive Glass

Novel volume holographic elements were made from Bragg diffractive gratings in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass with absolute diffraction efficiency ranging from greater than approximately 50% up to greater than approximately 93% and total losses below 5%. Both transmitting and reflecting volume diffractive elements were done from PTR glasses because of high spatial resolution enabling recording spatial frequencies up to 10000 mm.sup.-1. The use of such diffractive elements as angular selector, spatial filter, attenuator, switcher, modulator, beam splitter, beam sampler, beam deflectors controlled by positioning of grating matrix, by a small-angle master deflector or by spectral scanning, selector of particular wavelengths (notch filter, add/drop element, spectral shape former (gain equalizer), spectral sensor (wavelength meter/wavelocker), angular sensor (pointing locker), Bragg spectrometer (spectral analyzer), transversal and longitudinal mode selector in laser resonator were de

Modeling of phase volume diffractive gratings, part 1: transmitting sinusoidal uniform gratings

A detailed model of the diffraction of plane and Gaussian beams on plane uniform phase Bragg gratings based on Kogelnik\u27s theory of coupled waves is presented. The model describes transmitting gratings with arbitrary orientation in a plane-parallel plate taking into account spectral width and angular divergence of laser beams along with material dispersion of a photosensitive medium. The model results are compared with experimental data for high- efficiency Bragg gratings in a photothermorefractive (PTR) glass

Scaling the spectral beam combining channels in a multiplexed volume Bragg grating

In order to generate high power laser radiation it is often necessary to combine multiple lasers into a single beam. The recent advances in high power spectral beam combining using multiplexed volume Bragg gratings recorded in photo-thermo-refractive glass are presented. The focus is on using multiple gratings recorded within the same volume to lower the complexity of the combining system. Combining of 420 W with 96% efficiency using a monolithic, multiplexed double grating recorded in PTR glass is demonstrated. A multiplexed quadruple grating that maintains high efficiency and good beam quality is demonstrated to pave a way for further scaling of combining channels

Volume Bragg Grating assisted broadband tunability and spectral narrowing of Ti:Sapphire oscillators

A widely tunable, narrow band Ti:Sapphire oscillator is reported. Tunability and spectral narrowing were achieved by use of a volume Bragg grating in the cavity. Tunability was observed from 785 nm to 852 nm while maintaining a spectral linewidth less than 10 pm with essentially no spectral jitter. Oscillation on only 2 longitudinal modes is also reported at 852 nm with the grating at normal incidence providing similar to 200 mW output power

Process of production of high efficiency diffractive and refractive optical elements in multicomponent silicate glass by nonlinear photo ionization followed by thermal development.

Apparatus, methods and systems for production of high efficiency refractive and diffractive elements by providing a photo-sensitizer fi-ee multicomponent glass, exposing the multi component glass to pulsed laser radiation to produce refractive indexed modulation, and heating the exposed multicomponent silicate glass to produce the high efficiency refractive and diffractive elements. The pulsed laser radiation is infrared femtosecond pulses to ultraviolet nanosecond pulses which provide ionization of glass matrix. The multicomponent glass is a photosensitive glass with high transparency in ultraviolet spectral region, e.g. silicate glass which includes silver, fluorine and bromine and does not contain photosensitizers such as cerium and antimony, PTR glass, cerium free PTR glass and cerium + antimony free PTR glass