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08 Apr 2003
The pick of this week's patent applications including a laser with a repetition rate in excess of 40 GHz.
• Title: Pulse-generating laser
Applicant: Giga Tera, Switzerland
International application number: WO 03/028177
A solid-state laser that can operate with a repetition rate in excess of 40 GHz is described in patent application WO 03/028177. The laser uses a Er:Yb:-doped gain medium and is passively modelocked using a saturable absorber mirror. The authors of the patent say the basic configuration is designed to operate between 1525 and 1570 nm at a repetition rate in excess of 1 GHz. "Compared to state-of-the-art solid-state pulsed laser, the threshold for Q-switched modelocked operation is substantially improved," say the inventors. They add that the device features wavelength tuning and repetition-rate locking functions.
• Title: A method for measuring the power of a light beam
Applicant: Element Six, The Netherlands
International application number: WO 03/027620
A Dutch company is trying to patent a method for measuring the power in a laser or light beam. The company's approach involves directing the light onto a layer of boron-doped or poly-crystalline diamond. This heats the material and, by measuring the increase in temperature, the authors say they can determine the power of the incident light.
• Title: Device and method for three-dimensional display of images
Applicant: DSV, Switzerland
International application number: WO 03/027755
Building pyramid-shaped elements onto a display surface allows a viewer to see images in three dimensions, according to patent application WO 03/027755. The patent claims that viewers perceive depth in images because the pyramids help them distinguish between light incident on the left-hand or right-hand eye. The authors add that their invention also prevents Moiré distortion.
• Title: Light emitting diode with integrated heat dissipater
Applicant: Kelvin Shih, US
International application number: WO 03/028119
Is your LED's performance suffering because it is getting too hot? If so, then the invention outlined in application WO 03/028119 is one to look out for. "The anode and the cathode both either act or are coupled to a thermally conductive material which acts as the heat sink," say the inventors. This dissipates the heat and allows the LED to be driven by higher currents, which in turn generates a higher light output without adverse temperature-related effects.
Author
Jacqueline Hewett is news reporter on Optics.org and Opto & Laser Europe magazine.
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