定义：
为放大器或者其它激光器产生种子光的激光器。
种子激光器是其输出光被注入到一些放大器或者其它激光器中的一种激光器。它通常工作于下列情形：
- 种子激光器与放大器结合一起形成一个主振荡功率放大器，用来产生更高功率的输出光。与单个高功率激光器相比，采用低功率种子激光的特性包括：例如具有窄线宽的单频工作，很大的波长调谐范围，产生超短脉冲。
- 单频的种子光束可以直接注入到另一个激光器（从属激光器）或者光学参量振荡器中通过注入种子注入过程达到窄带辐射。有时甚至能实现注入锁定，这时辐射的频域种子频率严格相等，并且激光器噪声大小与种子激光器噪声很接近。
典型的种子激光器是小的激光二极管（单频或者增益开关），短腔光纤激光器，小型的固态激光器如非平面环形振荡器（NPROs）。
Definition: lasers which are used for generating some seed light into an amplifier or another laser
More general terms: lasers
Opposite term: slave lasers
A seed laser is a laser the output which is injected into some optical amplifier or another laser. This is done in, e.g., the following situations:
- A seed laser combined with an amplifier forms a master oscillator power amplifier configuration, used for generating an output with high power. Compared with an approach with a single high-power laser, it is easier to obtain certain features with a low-power seed laser, e.g. single-frequency operation with narrow linewidth, a wide wavelength tuning range or the generation of ultrashort pulses.
- Instead of injection into an amplifier, a single-frequency seed beam can be sent into another laser (slave laser) or into an optical parametric oscillator in order to achieve narrowband emission via injection seeding. It is sometimes possible even to achieve injection locking, where the emitted frequency exactly equals the seed frequency, and the laser noise may be close to that of the seed laser.
Typical types of seed lasers are small laser diodes (single-frequency or gain-switched), short-cavity fiber lasers, and miniature solid-state lasers such as nonplanar ring oscillators (NPROs).
