Laser marker device
The laser marker device addresses inefficiencies in single-beam scanning by using a line beam method with spatial modulation and correction, achieving uniform heat distribution and improved contrast for enhanced productivity and quality in laser marking.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2023213345
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-12-18
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-30
AI Technical Summary
Existing laser marking technologies using single-beam scanning are inefficient for wide-area marking, leading to low productivity and non-uniform processing due to the Gaussian beam's energy distribution, which results in varying oxide film thickness and reduced contrast.
A laser marker device employing a line beam method with spatial modulation and scanning, where the laser output is discretely controlled within the line beam to achieve uniform heat distribution and improved contrast, using a spatial light modulator and correction unit to adjust the light profile.
The solution enhances scanning efficiency and achieves uniform heat distribution across the marked area, reducing contrast reduction and improving the overall quality and productivity of laser marking processes.
Smart Images

Figure 2025097193000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The subject matter disclosed in this specification relates to a laser marker device.
Background Art
[0002] As one method of laser marking, color laser marking using a pulsed laser on stainless steel or titanium metal is known. This laser marking is a technique that uses a nanosecond pulsed laser to control the amount of laser irradiation energy, change the film thickness of the oxide film, and produce an arbitrary interference color. Also known is a technique of coloring by irradiating metals such as copper and titanium with a femtosecond laser to form not only an oxide film but also a structure on the order of micrometers, fine particles and fine structures on the order of nanometers. This is because scattering or absorption depending on the wavelength of light occurs due to the fine structure, changing the reflectivity of the metal surface, and thus a predetermined color can be seen.
[0003] Such laser marking technology is described in, for example, Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, a mark is formed on the metal surface of an article by scanning with a single beam that irradiates the metal surface of the article in a spot (dot) shape.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0004]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0005] By the way, the single-beam scanning as in the prior art has a problem that it takes a long time to draw a wide area and the productivity is low. In addition, a Gaussian beam is generally used for the single beam, in which the central energy is high and the energy weakens as it progresses to the periphery. When processing a metal with such a Gaussian beam, there is a difference in the degree of processing between the center and the periphery of the beam, making it difficult to achieve uniform processing. In order to achieve uniform processing, it is conceivable to perform scanning so that the peripheral portions of the single beam overlap. However, in this case, the scanning efficiency decreases due to the over-drawing.
[0006] Therefore, it is conceivable to improve the scanning efficiency by a line beam method in which a line beam extending in the major axis direction is spatially modulated and scanned. In this line beam method, by discretely applying a laser output corresponding to the oxide film thickness within the line beam, it is possible to perform various pattern drawings such as drawing or multi-color drawing.
[0007] In laser marking, since the formation of the oxide film and the like is an annealing process depending on the heat near the metal surface, the heat distribution on the metal surface after laser light irradiation is important. However, when laser light is uniformly irradiated to a certain region, the heat given to the region by the laser light diffuses outside the region. For this reason, even if the same amount of light is applied to the region, the heat distribution within the region becomes non-uniform, and there is a possibility that the contrast at the end of the region decreases.
[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reducing a decrease in contrast in laser marking.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0009] To solve the above problems, a first aspect is a laser marker device that irradiates an object having a metal surface with a laser beam to form a mark, the laser marker device including: a laser light source that emits a laser beam; an illumination optical system that shapes the laser beam into a line beam extending in a major axis direction; a spatial light modulator having a plurality of modulation elements arranged in the major axis direction, the plurality of modulation elements modulating the line beam into a modulated beam; a projection optical system that guides the modulated beam to the object; a scanning unit that scans the surface of the object with the modulated beam; a storage unit that stores an output profile defining the amount of light to be irradiated to the object; a correction unit that corrects the output profile such that the amount of light inside a first region is smaller than the amount of light at an end of the first region, where the amount of light defined by the output profile is the same in the first region; and a control unit that controls the spatial light modulator based on the output profile corrected by the correction unit.
[0010] A second aspect is the laser marker device according to the first aspect, wherein the correction unit corrects the output profile such that the amount of light inside the first region is smaller than the amount of light at an end of the first region in the major axis direction.
[0011] A third aspect is the laser marker device according to the second aspect, wherein the first region is a region within the line beam.
[0012] A fourth aspect is the laser marker device according to the first aspect or the second aspect, wherein each of the plurality of modulation elements is capable of multi-valued light amount control.
[0013] A fifth aspect is the laser marker device according to the third aspect, wherein the spatial light modulator has an LPLV (Liner Planar Light Valve).
[0014] A sixth aspect is the laser marker device according to the first aspect or the second aspect, further including a laser marker device in which the correction unit corrects the output profile such that the amount of light inside the first region is smaller than the amount of light at an end of the first region in a minor axis direction orthogonal to the major axis direction.
[0015] The seventh aspect is the laser marker device according to the first aspect or the second aspect, wherein the correction unit is an area adjacent to the first area, and for a second area where the light quantity defined in the output profile is smaller than the light quantity in the first area, the output profile is corrected so that the light quantity at the end of the second area is smaller than the light quantity inside the second area.
Advantages of the Invention
[0016] According to the laser marker devices of the first aspect to the seventh aspect, since the heat distribution within the first area can be made uniform, it is possible to reduce the contrast reduction at the end of the first area.
[0017] According to the laser marker device of the second aspect, it is possible to reduce the contrast reduction at the end in the major axis direction of the first area.
[0018] According to the laser marker device of the third aspect, within a region in the line beam, the heat distribution in the major axis direction can be made uniform.
[0019] According to the laser marker device of the fourth aspect, it is possible to irradiate an object with a multi-valued light quantity.
[0020] According to the laser marker device of the fifth aspect, it is possible to easily realize multi-valued light quantity control.
[0021] According to the laser marker device of the sixth aspect, in the minor axis direction, the light quantity distribution within the first area can be made uniform. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the contrast reduction at the end of the first area.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0022]
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention
[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the components described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. In the drawings, for ease of understanding, the dimensions and numbers of each part may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary.
[0024] <1. Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a laser marker device 1 according to an embodiment. The laser marker device 1 is a device that marks characters and figures by forming an oxide film on the surface of an object 9 or forming a fine structure by peeling or the like. The surface of the object 9 is formed of a metal such as stainless steel, copper, or titanium, for example. In the following description, a case where marking is performed by forming an oxide film on the surface of the object 9 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the laser marker device 1 includes a laser light source 11, an optical device 12, a scanning unit 13, a holding unit 14, and a control unit 15.
[0025] The laser light source 11 emits a laser beam L31 to the optical device 12. The laser light source 11 is, for example, a fiber laser light source. The wavelength of the laser beam L31 is, for example, 1.070 μm.
[0026] The optical device 12 modulates the laser beam L31 from the laser light source 11 into a modulated beam L33. Further, the optical device 12 irradiates the scanning unit 13 with the modulated beam L33. The optical device 12 includes an illumination optical system 21, a spatial light modulator 22, and a projection optical system 23. The illumination optical system 21 and the projection optical system 23 each include a plurality of optical elements such as lenses.
[0027] The illumination optical system 21 shapes the laser beam L31 from the laser light source 11 into a line beam L32 that is a substantially linear parallel beam long in one direction (hereinafter referred to as the "major axis direction") and guides it to the spatial light modulator 22. In other words, the cross-sectional shape of the line beam L32 is substantially linear, long in the major axis direction and short in the minor axis direction perpendicular to the major axis direction. The cross-sectional shape of the line beam L32 refers to the shape of the line beam L32 in a plane perpendicular to the traveling direction of the line beam L32. In the following description, the cross-section of light means, as described above, the cross-section of the light in a plane perpendicular to the traveling direction of the light. The cross-sectional shape of the line beam L32 can also be regarded as a substantially rectangular shape. The size of the cross-section of the line beam L32 is the same at any position in the traveling direction of the line beam L32. The shape of the irradiation region of the line beam L32 on the spatial light modulator 22 is, for example, substantially linear (or substantially rectangular) with a length of 28 mm in the major axis direction and a length of 1 mm in the minor axis direction.
[0028] The spatial light modulator 22 modulates the line beam L32 from the illumination optical system 21 into a modulated beam L33 and guides it to the projection optical system 23. The spatial light modulator 22 has, for example, a PLV (Planar Light Valve). In the following description, the case where the spatial light modulator 22 has an LPLV (Liner Planar Light Valve), which is a type of PLV, will be described.
[0029] The LPLV has the same power resistance per unit area of the element as, for example, the GLV (Grating Light Valve) (registered trademark), and has a large effective area. That is, the larger the effective area, the higher the power that can be handled compared to the GLV.
[0030] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of the LPLV included in the spatial light modulator 22. The spatial light modulator 22 includes a plurality of substantially rectangular pixels 221. The plurality of pixels 221 are arranged adjacent to each other on a substrate (not shown). The plurality of pixels 221 are arranged in a matrix of a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. That is, the plurality of pixels 221 are two-dimensionally arranged. In the spatial light modulator 22, the surfaces of the plurality of pixels 221 serve as modulation surfaces. In the example shown in FIG. 2, M pixels 221 are arranged in the vertical direction and N pixels 221 are arranged in the horizontal direction in the figure. The horizontal direction in FIG. 2 corresponds to the major axis direction of the line beam L32 (see FIG. 1), and the vertical direction in FIG. 2 corresponds to the minor axis direction of the line beam L32.
[0031] Each pixel 221 is a modulation element and includes a fixed member 222 and a movable member 223. The fixed member 222 is a planar substantially rectangular member fixed to the substrate and has a substantially circular opening at the center. The movable member 223 is substantially circular and is located in the opening of the fixed member 222. The upper surface of the fixed member 222 (that is, the front surface in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2) has a fixed reflection surface. The upper surface of the movable member 223 has a movable reflection surface. The movable member 223 is movable in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2 (the direction perpendicular to the major axis direction and the minor axis direction).
[0032] When the relative position of the movable member 223 with respect to the fixed member 222 is changed, the reflected light from the pixel 221 is switched between the zero-order light (i.e., the specularly reflected light) and the non-zero-order diffracted light. In other words, when the movable member 223 moves relative to the fixed member 222, optical modulation using a diffraction grating is performed. The zero-order light emitted from the spatial light modulator 22 is guided to the scanning unit 13 by the projection optical system 23 (see FIG. 1). Also, the non-zero-order diffracted light (mainly, ±1st-order diffracted light) emitted from the spatial light modulator 22 is guided in a direction different from that of the scanning unit 13 by the projection optical system 23 and is blocked.
[0033] In the projection optical system 23, the reflected light from M pixels 221 arranged in a column in the vertical direction in FIG. 2 (hereinafter also referred to as a "pixel column") is integrated and irradiated onto the scanning unit 13 as the modulated beam L33. Thereby, the power density of the modulated beam L33 irradiated from the scanning unit 13 to the object 9 can be increased. In the spatial light modulator 22, the M pixels 221 of one pixel column (i.e., M modulation elements) can also be regarded as one modulation element 224 corresponding to one unit space. The spatial light modulator 22 functions as an optical modulator including N modulation elements 224 arranged in a column in the major axis direction of the line beam L32 on the spatial light modulator 22.
[0034] Also, when the M pixels 221 are controlled in the spatial light modulator 22, it is possible to perform control (multi-value control) to continuously change the amount of light guided to the projection optical system 23 for each modulation element 224.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 1, the projection optical system 23 condenses the modulated beam L33 from the spatial light modulator 22 and guides it to the scanning unit 13. The modulated beam L33 is irradiated onto the irradiation surface 135 (the surface of the object 9) through the scanning unit 13.
[0036] The scanning unit 13 re-projects the modulated image of the modulated beam L33 generated by the projection optical system 23 of the optical device 12 onto the surface of the object 9 held by the holding unit 14 and scans it. The scanning unit 13 is a galvanometric scanning system including a collimator lens 133, a galvanometer mirror 132, a galvanometer motor (not shown), and a scanning lens (fθ lens) 134, and is configured to project and scan the modulated image of the modulated beam L33 onto the above-described irradiation surface 135 at a specific magnification.
[0037] In the scanning unit 13, the modulated image of the modulated beam L33 is collimated and irradiated onto the galvanometer mirror 132. The galvanometer mirror 132 usually incorporates two pairs of mirrors and motors and can scan two axes. When the galvanometer mirror 132 rotates by the galvanometer motor, the collimated beam is reflected and its traveling direction is changed. The beam collimated by the scanning lens 134 is re-imaged at a position proportional to the rotation angle. As a result, the modulated image of the modulated beam L33 irradiated onto the object 9 is scanned in the scanning direction corresponding to the minor axis direction of the modulated beam L33. After scanning a certain distance, the galvanometer mirror in the major axis direction is rotated and moved by the size of the modulated image in the major axis direction, and then scanned again in the minor axis direction. By repeating this operation, two-dimensional scanning can be performed on the irradiation surface 135. Note that the scanning unit 13 is not limited to a galvanometer scanner. For example, the scanning unit 13 may be a polygon laser scanner.
[0038] The holding unit 14 holds the object 9. In this example, the holding unit 14 holds the plate-shaped object 9 in a horizontal posture (a posture in which the normal line of the surface of the object 9 is along the vertical direction).
[0039] Note that the scanning unit 13 does not necessarily have to include the galvanometer mirror 132, and may have other structures such as a polygon laser scanner. Further, the scanning unit 13 is not limited to changing the traveling direction of the modulated beam L33 from the projection optical system 23. For example, excluding the galvanometer scanner system, a moving mechanism such as a linear motor that moves the holding unit 14 that holds the object 9 in the horizontal direction with the modulated image of the modulated beam L33 arranged and fixed on the irradiation surface 135 may be used.
[0040] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 15. The control unit 15 is, for example, a computer and includes a processor such as a CPU and a storage unit 150 such as a RAM and an auxiliary storage device. The storage unit 150 is electrically connected to the processor via a bus. The storage unit 150 stores a program P. The processor functions as a scanning control unit 151, a correction unit 153, and a drawing control unit 155 by executing the program P.
[0041] The scanning control unit 151 controls the scanning unit 13. The correction unit 153 corrects the output profile D1 stored in the storage unit 150. The output profile D1 is data that defines the amount of light required for each pixel to form an image on the object 9. That is, the output profile D1 is data that defines the amount of light corresponding to the film thickness to be formed on the surface of the object 9. In the following description, it is assumed that in the output profile D1, the maximum value of the amount of light that can be applied in one scan is 100%, and the amount of light is defined as a percentage. The correction unit 153 corrects the output profile D1 using the correction table T1. The correction process executed by the correction unit 153 will be described later.
[0042] The drawing control unit 155 controls the spatial light modulator 22 based on the output profile D1 corrected by the correction unit 153. That is, the drawing control unit 155 causes the spatial light modulator 22 to form the modulated beam L33 based on the corrected output profile.
[0043] FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a state in which the surface of the object 9 is scanned with the linear modulation beam L33. As shown in FIG. 4, in the laser marker device 1, the surface of the object 9 is scanned in one direction of the main scanning direction with the modulation beam L33 extending in the major axis direction. The main scanning direction corresponds to the minor axis direction of the modulation beam L33. Then, when one scan in the main scanning direction is completed, the modulation beam L33 is moved by the width in the major axis direction of the modulation beam L33 in one direction of the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and the modulation beam L33 scans in the other direction of the main scanning direction. By repeating such scanning, the entire target area of the object 9 is drawn. Thus, according to the line beam type laser marker device 1, a wider area can be drawn in one scan compared to the case of scanning with a spot-like single beam. For this reason, since drawing can be performed efficiently, productivity can be improved.
[0044] FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing oxide films 9a having different thicknesses formed by controlling the light amount of the modulation beam L33. Since the spatial light modulator 22 is an element capable of multi-valued light amount control, it is possible to control the light amount within the modulation beam L33. And the thickness of the oxide film 9a formed on the surface of the object 9 changes due to the thermal energy (fluence) generated by laser irradiation. For this reason, it is possible to process the surface of the object 9 so as to develop a desired color. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when a multi-valued light amount distribution (100%, 80%, 40%, 0%) is formed within the modulation beam L33, oxide films 9a having thicknesses corresponding to the light amount distribution are respectively formed. When light hits the object 9 (metal) on which such an oxide film 9a is formed, the light reflected from the surface of the object 9 and the light reflected from the surface of the oxide film 9a interfere with each other. That is, a multicolor pattern P1 that develops with an interference color corresponding to the thickness of the oxide film 9a of the object 9 can be drawn.
[0045] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the light quantity distribution QD1 in the modulated beam L33 defined in the output profile D1 and the heat distribution HD1 applied to the object 9. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis corresponds to the major axis direction. Further, the light quantity distribution of the modulated beam L33 shown in FIG. 6 includes two regions A1 and A2 (on regions) where the light quantity is set to 100% in the output profile D1 and a region A3 (off region) where the light quantity is set to 0%. Region A3 is located between regions A1 and A2 in the major axis direction.
[0046] Part of the heat applied to the object 9 by the laser light in regions A1 and A2 diffuses outside regions A1 and A2. As shown in FIG. 6, when the light quantity of regions A1 and A2 is uniformly set to 100% according to the output profile D1, the heat distribution HD1 changes gently at the boundary between region A1 and region A3 and at the boundary between region A2 and region A3. Also, in region A3, heat is applied, which may cause the formation of an unintended oxide film 9a to progress. Then, in the pattern P21 formed on the object 9, the color contrast decreases between regions A1 and A3 and between regions A2 and A3.
[0047] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the light quantity distribution QD1c corrected by the correction unit 153 and the heat distribution HD2 applied to the object 9. The light quantity distribution QD1c is corrected so that the light quantity inside region A1 is smaller than the light quantity at the end of region A1 in the major axis direction in the light quantity distribution QD1. More specifically, it is corrected so that the light quantity decreases at a constant slope from both ends of region A1 toward the center of region A1. The light quantity Qc1 at the center is a value smaller than the light quantity 100% at the end. The light quantity Qc1 is a value calculated based on the correction value defined in the correction table T1. The light quantity distribution of region A2 is also corrected in the same manner as the light quantity distribution of region A1.
[0048] In this way, by correcting the light quantity distribution QD1 using the correction table T1 in the correction unit 153, in regions A1 and A2, due to heat diffusion from the ends to the inside, the heat distribution HD2 in regions A1 and A2 can be made uniform. As a result, the reduction in color contrast at the ends of regions A1 and A2 can be mitigated. Also, since heat diffusion from regions A1 and A2 to region A3 is reduced, formation of the oxide film in region A3 can be reduced. Therefore, the reduction in contrast between regions A1 and A3 and between regions A2 and A3 can be mitigated.
[0049] In the correction table T1, the light quantity before correction and the light quantity after correction are defined. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the light quantity of 100% before correction and the light quantity Qc1 after correction corresponding thereto are defined in the correction table T1. Note that correction may be performed using a correction formula instead of the correction table T1. The correction table T1 or the correction formula may be obtained in advance by experiments or alternatively may be obtained by simulation such as heat diffusion simulation.
[0050] Note that in the example shown in FIG. 7, the correction unit 153 corrects the light quantity distribution so that the light quantity decreases linearly with a constant slope from the end to the inside of region A1. However, the light quantity distribution may be corrected to be non-linear.
[0051] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of correction of other light amounts. In the example shown in FIG. 8, within the modulation beam L33, the light amount distribution QD2 defined in the output profile D1 has a region A1 (first region) where the light amount is 100% and a region A4 (second region) where the light amount is 40%. The light amount of region A4 is smaller than the light amount of region A1. Also, region A4 is adjacent to region A1 in the major axis direction. When correcting such a light amount distribution QD2, the correction unit 153 corrects the light amount at the end of region A4 adjacent to region A1 to be larger than the light amount inside region A4. Specifically, in the corrected light amount distribution QD2c shown in FIG. 8, in region A4, the light amount at the center in the major axis direction is 40%, and the light amounts at both ends are corrected to Qc2 which is smaller than 40%. Also, in region A4, the light amount is corrected to decrease at a constant slope from the center to both ends. When exposure is performed based on the light amount distribution QD2c corrected in this way, even if heat diffusion occurs from region A1 to region A4, the amount of heat at the end of region A4 becomes smaller than the amount of heat inside, so that the heat distribution in region A4 can be made uniform. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the decrease in the color contrast between regions A1 and A4.
[0052] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of correction of the light amount when exposing regions A11 and A12 adjacent in the major axis direction (sub-scanning direction). In FIG. 9, region A11 is exposed by the first scan SC1, and region A12 is exposed by the second scan SC2. Also, the light amount distribution QD3 is the light amount in the major axis direction defined in the output profile D1, and the light amount distribution QD3c is the light amount distribution in the major axis direction corrected by the correction unit 153. In the output profile D1, the light amount of region A11 is set to 100%. Also, among region A12, the light amount of the region portion adjacent to region A11 is set to 0%. In this case, the correction unit 153 corrects the light amount distribution QD3 of region A11 so that the inner light amount in region A11 is smaller than the light amount at the end portion of region A11 (the portion in contact with region A12). When exposure is performed based on the light amount distribution QD3c corrected in this way, in region A11, the heat distribution in region A11 can be made uniform by heat diffusion from the end portion to the inside. Also, by reducing the heat diffusion from region A11 to region A12, the formation of the oxide film in the region portion where the light amount in region A12 is set to 0% can be reduced. Therefore, a decrease in the color contrast between regions A11 and A12 can be reduced.
[0053] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of light amount correction when exposing regions A21 and A22 adjacent in the short-axis direction (main scanning direction). In FIG. 10, regions A21 and A22 are continuously exposed in one scan in the main scanning direction. Also, the light amount distribution QD4 is the light amount distribution in the short-axis direction defined by the output profile D1, and the light amount distribution QD4c is the light amount distribution in the short-axis direction corrected by the correction unit 153. Further, in the output profile D1, the light amount of region A21 is set to 100%, and the light amount of region A22 is set to 0%. In this case, the correction unit 153 corrects the light amount distribution QD4 of region A21 so that the light amount inside region A21 is smaller than the light amount at the end adjacent to region A22. When exposure is performed based on the light amount distribution QD4c corrected in this way, the heat distribution in region A21 can be made uniform by heat diffusion from the end to the inside in region A21. Also, since heat diffusion from region A21 to region A22 is reduced, formation of the oxide film in region A22 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce a decrease in color contrast between regions A21 and A22.
[0054] Although the present invention has been described in detail, the above description is illustrative in all aspects and the present invention is not limited thereto. It is understood that innumerable modifications not illustrated can be assumed without departing from the scope of the present invention. Each configuration described in the above embodiments and each modification can be appropriately combined or omitted as long as they do not conflict with each other.
Description of Reference Numerals
[0055] 1: Laser marker device 9: Object 11: Laser light source 13: Scanning unit 15: Control unit 21: Illumination optical system 22: Spatial light modulator 23: Projection optical system 100: Laser marker device 150: Storage unit 153: Correction unit 155: Drawing control unit 224: Modulation element D1: Output profile L31: Laser light L32: Line beam L33: Modulated beam Qc: Light quantity
Claims
1. A laser marker device that forms a mark by irradiating an object having a metal surface with a laser beam, a laser light source that emits a laser beam, an illumination optical system that shapes the laser beam into a line beam extending in the major axis direction, a spatial light modulator having a plurality of modulation elements arranged in the major axis direction, and modulating the line beam into a modulated beam by the plurality of modulation elements, a projection optical system that guides the modulated beam to the object, a scanning unit that scans the surface of the object with the modulated beam, a storage unit that stores an output profile defining the amount of light to be irradiated to the object, a correction unit that corrects the output profile so that the amount of light inside the first region is smaller than the amount of light at the end of the first region in a first region where the amount of light defined by the output profile is the same, a control unit that controls the spatial light modulator based on the output profile corrected by the correction unit, A laser marker device comprising:
2. The laser marker device according to claim 1, wherein the correction unit corrects the output profile so that the amount of light inside the first region is smaller than the amount of light at the end of the first region in the major axis direction.
3. The laser marker device according to claim 2, wherein the first region is a region within the line beam.
4. The laser marker device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of modulation elements can perform multi-valued light amount control.
5. The laser marker device according to claim 3, wherein the spatial light modulator has an LPLV (Liner Planar Light Valve).
6. The laser marker device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the correction unit further corrects the output profile so that the amount of light inside the first region is smaller than the amount of light at the end of the first region in the minor axis direction orthogonal to the major axis direction. A laser marker device further comprising:
7. The laser marker device according to claim 1 or claim 2, The correction unit is an area adjacent to the first area, and for a second area where the light amount defined in the output profile is smaller than the light amount of the first area, corrects the output profile so that the light amount at the end of the second area is smaller than the light amount inside the second area. A laser marker device.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
Method for forming a mark of desired color on an article
JP2019521855A