SEMICONDUCTOR LASER BEAM SOURCE AND SOLID-STATE LASER DEVICE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the mutual joining efficiency of laser beams and coupling efficiency with an optical system at a poststage by providing a specified cylindrical optical element and a specified condensing optical element behind 1st and 2nd semiconductor lasers. SOLUTION: A semiconductor laser array 2 having plural light emitting areas 3 emits the laser beams LA and LB whose planes of polarization are in parallel with each other and whose spread anglesθa andθb in two orthogonal directions satisfyθa<θb. A cylindrical lens 4 condenses the laser beams LA and LB in a direction where the spread angleθa is reduced. A wavelength plate 5 controls a polarization direction so that the plane of polarization of the laser beams LA and LB passing through the lens 4 may form 90 deg. each other, and a double refraction optical element 6 joins the optical paths of the laser beams by a double refraction effect. A light emitting surface 7 formed to be a cylindrical surface condenses the joined laser beams in a direction where the spread angleθb is reduced. Then, plural optical fibers 10 are provided at the condensing positions of the lens 4 and the surface 7.