Laser-bonded optical assembly

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, devices, and optical components are described. One or more materials used in optical systems can be bonded together using a pulsed laser beam. The bonding process can include transmitting a pulsed laser to irradiate an interface between two optical components, or two components, which can include an optical component and a mounting component. The pulsed laser can create one or more bonding locations where the components contact each other relatively intimately, which can secure the components together via at least partial melting of material on one or more surfaces of the components. In some examples, the pulsed laser can be scanned over the bonding location using a certain amount of time and / or pattern to achieve bonding. In some embodiments, one or more absorbing layers can be added to the components.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 421,679, filed November 2, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety and are hereby incorporated by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to optical assemblies, and more particularly to laser-bonded optical assemblies. [Background technology]

[0003] Optical systems can have a variety of applications in research, medical procedures, processing and microfabrication processes, manufacturing, and the like. For example, optical systems can include imaging and illumination systems for applications such as photolithography, semiconductor inspection, microscope assemblies, and polarization components, among other examples. In such systems, one or more optical components (e.g., refractive optics, reflective optics, diffractive optics) can be fixed to various structural components (e.g., housings, holders), fixed to other optical components, or both. Such assemblies, in combination with other components of the optical system (e.g., cameras, substrate stages, light sources), can function with several optical performance specifications for transmission, transmission uniformity, wavefront performance, polarization performance, and / or alignment fidelity to perform, for example, inspection, measurement, or lithography functions. In some examples, adhesive materials can be used to attach optical components to a support structure or to each other. However, such adhesive materials may be of limited use (or may not be used) in some systems (e.g., systems operating at relatively high power levels, systems operating with some wavelengths of light), and the application of adhesive materials to bond optical components may result in degradation, contamination, and reliability issues. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The methods, apparatus, and devices of the present disclosure each have several new and novel aspects. This Summary provides examples of some of these new and novel aspects, but the present disclosure may include new and novel aspects not included in this Summary.

[0005] The described technology relates to methods, apparatus, and systems for laser-bonded optical assemblies. For example, one or more materials used in an optical system can be bonded together using a pulsed laser beam. Generally, the bonding process can involve transmitting a pulsed laser having a wavelength (e.g., ultraviolet (UV) wavelength, infrared (IR) wavelength, visible light wavelength) to irradiate an interface between two components, which can include two optical components (e.g., lenses, mirrors, prisms, etc.), or an optical component and a mounting component (e.g., a housing or other type of support structure). The pulsed laser can create one or more bonding locations where the components are in relatively intimate contact with each other (e.g., within a threshold distance between the opposing surfaces), which can secure the components together through partial melting of material at one or more surfaces. Additionally, the pulsed laser can be scanned over the bonding location for a certain amount of time (e.g., a threshold amount of time, for a certain duration) and using a pattern to bond the components together. In some embodiments, one or more absorbing layers can be added to the components to enhance adhesion and expand the process window for joining materials together. The described techniques may therefore enable permanent and stable bonds between optical components while avoiding the use of adhesives that may be subject to degradation and / or cause contamination within the optical system.

[0006] In a first aspect, a method is disclosed that includes aligning a first light-transmitting substrate for attachment to a housing component, the first light-transmitting substrate comprising a first material that is different from a second material of the housing component, and bonding the first light-transmitting substrate to the housing component by irradiating a first surface of the first light-transmitting substrate, a second surface of the housing component, or both, using one or more passes of a pulsed laser beam through the first light-transmitting substrate.

[0007] In another aspect, a method is disclosed that includes establishing an alignment configuration for a first material and a second material, the alignment configuration defining an interface between a surface of the first material and a surface of the second material based at least in part on a geometry of the first material and a geometry of the second material, and irradiating the interface at one or more bonding zones with a pulsed laser beam transmitted through the first material or the second material to at least partially melt the surface of the first material, the surface of the second material, or both, thereby bonding the first material and the second material.

[0008] In another aspect, an optical component is disclosed, the optical component comprising a first material and a second material bonded together at one or more bonding zones where at least partial melting of at least the first material or the second material is generated by radiation from a pulsed laser source and the bonding is at least in part based on the at least partial melting, wherein at least one of the first material or the second material comprises an optically transparent substrate, and the first material and the second material are other than one or more organic adhesive materials. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an example of a system for supporting a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 illustrates an example of an optical assembly that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 1 illustrates an example of an optical assembly that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates an example of an optical assembly that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 5]1 illustrates an example of an optical assembly that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 illustrates an example of an optical assembly that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates an example of an optical assembly that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an example of an optical assembly that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates an example of an optical assembly that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 illustrates a flowchart for supporting a laser bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 1 illustrates a flowchart for supporting a laser bonded optical assembly, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Optical systems can have a variety of applications in research, medical procedures, processing and microfabrication processes, and manufacturing. For example, optical systems can include imaging and illumination systems for applications such as photolithography, semiconductor inspection, microscope assemblies, and polarization components, among other examples. Such optical systems can include various optical components, such as light sources (e.g., lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs)) and optical elements (e.g., transmissive elements, refractive elements, diffractive elements, lenses, windows, prisms, beam splitters), as well as other structural, housing, and mechanical components (e.g., for supporting, holding, and / or positioning the optical elements). Thus, an optical system can include one or more optical assemblies having optics attached to structural components of the system. Additionally or alternatively, two or more optical components of an optical assembly may be attached to one another.

[0011] Attaching such optical components to each other or to structural components (or both) can be achieved through a variety of techniques, including using mechanical attachments and adhesive materials (e.g., organic adhesive materials). However, mechanical attachment techniques (e.g., using one or more fasteners, clamps, or other methods) are often imprecise and relatively costly to implement with both high stability and precision. On the other hand, adhesive materials may provide some degrees of freedom for alignment of the optical system, but may suffer from lifetime and contamination issues, particularly in relatively high-power operating environments, operating environments using some wavelengths (e.g., deep ultraviolet (DUV) wavelengths, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths), and for relatively high-vacuum applications, among other examples.

[0012] For example, some adhesives have limited durability and, in some cases, may degrade under the operating wavelengths and power levels of the optical system. As an example, elastomeric adhesive materials may provide some protection against contact forces and differential thermal expansion (e.g., resulting from vibration, shock, or shifting), but in some cases may be associated with relatively weak bond strength and require a reasonable combination of mechanical, optical, and chemical properties that may be difficult to achieve, especially for medium- to high-production volumes, as well as for use in some DUV and vacuum-based EUV optical systems. Furthermore, some optical systems including light sources operating at relatively high power levels may completely preclude the use of adhesives to attach optical components in the optical system, as the adhesive material may not be able to withstand the system's operating environment. Thus, the use of adhesives to bond optical components can be limited, present challenges, and result in degradation and contamination issues in some applications, while being virtually unavailable in others.

[0013] The disclosed technology provides a solution that enables the use of a focused, high-power pulsed laser system to connect (e.g., bond) transparent optical components or substrates to one another or to mounting components. For example, to bond the materials together, a pulsed laser can be focused on the interface defined by two surfaces of the respective materials. Here, respective optical components (e.g., optically transparent substrates, optical housings, or other components) can be bonded together when the pulsed laser is irradiated on one or both of the first surface of a first optical component or the second surface of a second optical or housing component, resulting in partial melting of at least one of the first or second surfaces and bonding the components together. In such cases, the material of the optical or housing component can be locally melted and a plasma can be generated, thereby combining the materials in one or more locations permanently and with a relatively small heat-affected zone (e.g., due to the relatively short duration of the pulsed laser light). Thus, the described technology relates to aspects of laser "welding" for creating opto-mechanical assemblies, including assemblies where adhesives cannot be used or adhesive performance may limit the stability and / or lifespan of the assembly.

[0014] In some embodiments, laser bonding of optical components can be used to bond similar or dissimilar materials, which can be based on the alignment configuration between the materials (e.g., based on the positioning, geometry, size, shape, number or location of contact points, or any combination thereof). As an example, an optical component (e.g., an optically transparent substrate such as a glass material) can be bonded to a housing or other structural component configured to support the optical component, and the bond can be based on how the optical component is attached to the housing (e.g., based on the number and / or location of contact points between the optical component and the housing when attached). Additionally or alternatively, multiple transparent optical components can be bonded to each other using the described laser bonding techniques, and such bonding can similarly be based on the alignment configuration between the transparent optical components (e.g., based on how and where the transparent optical components come into contact with each other for attachment). In either case, the optical component can be bonded to another optical component or to a housing using a pattern of laser light transmitted through at least one surface of the transparent optical component to irradiate the interface between the components and create one or more bonding zones. Additionally, bonding can be based on an illumination location where opposing surfaces of the optical components are a threshold (e.g., minimum) distance apart from one another. For example, the threshold distance can be about 0.0 μm to about 7.0 μm (or about 0.5 μm to about 6.5 μm, or about 1.0 μm to about 6.0 μm, or about 1.5 μm to about 5.5 μm, or about 2.0 μm to about 5.0 μm, or about 2.5 μm to about 4.5 μm, or about 3.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, or about 3.5 μm to about 5.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 6.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 6.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 5.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 5.0 μm, or may be a distance of about 0.0 μm to about 4.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.75 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.25 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.1 μm.Additionally or alternatively, bonding may be achieved by irradiating opposing surfaces with a threshold (e.g., minimum) number of passes of laser light. In some aspects, the described techniques may allow two optical components to be laser bonded (e.g., using a pulsed laser or other technique) before being bonded to a housing component. Similarly, an optical component may be laser bonded to a housing component before being bonded to one or more other optical components.

[0015] Certain aspects of the subject matter described herein can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages: Use of the described laser bonding techniques can provide permanent, stable bonds between the respective components. Such bonds, in some instances, may be inorganic and may not degrade at some operating wavelengths and power levels of optical systems that include such laser-bonded assemblies. Similarly, laser bonding of optical components can avoid contamination issues typically associated with adhesives that have undesirable chemical or outgassing properties. The described techniques can also be used to create seals (e.g., hermetic seals) between the respective components, for use in, for example, pressurized or vacuum systems and applications. The bonded assemblies can be used in high-power and high-vacuum optical systems alike, minimizing the risk of bond weakening over the lifetime of the corresponding optical system. Furthermore, mechanical stresses near one or more laser-irradiated bond locations can be relatively localized (e.g., and located away from the aperture of the optical component), thereby minimizing impact on the optical performance of the optical component.

[0016] Aspects of the present disclosure are first described in the context of a system used to bond optical components using a pulsed laser to create an optical assembly. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to various optical assemblies and flow charts relating to techniques and apparatus for laser-bonded optical assemblies.

[0017] This description provides examples and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the principles described herein. Rather, this description will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing various aspects of the principles described herein. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the disclosure.

[0018] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that one or more aspects of the present disclosure may additionally or alternatively be implemented in a system for solving other problems than those described herein. Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may provide technical improvements over "traditional" systems or processes as described herein. However, this description and accompanying drawings include only exemplary technical improvements resulting from implementing aspects of the present disclosure and therefore do not represent all of the technical improvements provided within the scope of the claims.

[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system 100 for supporting a laser-bonded optical assembly according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The system 100 may include various components, such as a light source 105 and one or more optical systems 110. The one or more optical systems 110 may be configured to receive the output of the light source 105 (e.g., a laser beam 115) and focus the output at an interface 120 between a surface of an optical component 125 and a surface of a housing component 130. Here, the interface 120 may be defined by a first surface of the optical component 125 facing and in contact with a second surface of the housing component 130 (e.g., within a threshold distance from the second surface at one or more locations). Thus, the light source 105 and the one or more optical systems 110 may be configured to bond the first optical component 125 and the housing component 130 by irradiating the interface 120, which may result in localized melting (e.g., at least partial melting) of one or more of the materials of the first optical component 125 and the housing component 130 to bond the materials together. Laser beam 115 from light source 105 may be scanned a threshold number of times or for a duration over one or more locations along interface 120 to enable bonding. In some examples, system 100 may support laser bonding of optical component 125 to another, different optical component (as described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 7). The bonded optical component may comprise an optical assembly 135 for use in an optical system.

[0020] Optical systems can have a variety of applications and typically include some combination of refractive, reflective, or diffractive optical components mounted to each other and / or within a housing or other structural component. Such assemblies may be combined with other components of the optical system (e.g., cameras, substrate stages, light sources) that function within performance specifications related to transmission, transmission uniformity, wavefront performance, polarization performance, and alignment fidelity to perform, for example, some inspection function, some measurement function, or some lithography function, among other examples.

[0021] Traditionally, various techniques have been used to attach optical components to each other or to optical housings (e.g., mounts, holders). For example, one or more components can be mechanically attached, in which case a rigid and stable attachment technique may be used at the expense of relatively limited alignment capabilities and the incorporation of stress into the attached components. In other examples, adhesives can be used to attach optical components to each other or to optical housings. For example, some adhesive-based attachment techniques (e.g., elastomeric attachment) may allow for a degree of optical component alignment control, reduced stress, and reduced component processing complexity. However, incorporating adhesives with the right mix of mechanical, optical, and chemical properties for use in medium- to high-production volumes and for use in DUV systems (e.g., using operating wavelengths from about 280 nanometers (nm) to about 200 nm) or vacuum-based EUV systems (e.g., using operating wavelengths from about 124 nm to about 10 nm) can be challenging.

[0022] Furthermore, some optical systems and related applications are associated with operation at relatively high power levels that may preclude the use of adhesives. For example, in applications involving relatively high-power lasers (e.g., greater than about 100 milliwatts (mW)), relatively short wavelengths (e.g., ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths (e.g., about 400 nm to about 10 nm wavelengths), deep UV wavelengths, extreme UV wavelengths), or pulsed or broadband light sources, the use of adhesives may be limited due to issues related to contamination, outgassing, and / or durability (e.g., causing limited adhesive life). In some cases, the transparent aperture of an optical component may be positioned relatively close to the adhesive application zone, and thus the adhesive may be located within a contamination-sensitive space of the optical component's objective lens, potentially resulting in performance issues due to the presence of the adhesive. Therefore, an alternative mechanism for coupling optical components in a manner that is not affected by the optical system's operating wavelength(s) is desirable.

[0023] As described herein, improved techniques for attaching optical components to each other and to support components are disclosed. In particular, the described techniques may use a pulsed laser system focused on the mating surfaces of the components to be joined together. In such cases, the light source 105 (e.g., a pulsed laser) provides a relatively high energy output for a relatively short duration to locally melt (e.g., at least partially melt) the materials together, which may then resolidify to create a permanent bond between the materials. The system 100 may be focused on an area in a pattern to bond the materials within the zone. The bond between the materials forms an optical assembly 135 comprising at least two components (e.g., an optical component 125 and a housing component 130, two optical components 125). Additionally, the pulsed laser may be scanned over the joining location for a certain amount of time (e.g., for a threshold amount of time, a threshold duration) and in a pattern to bond the components together. At least partial melting (and thus bonding) of the materials can occur at one or more locations at interface 120 where the respective surfaces of the components are separated by a threshold (e.g., minimum) distance. In some embodiments, the threshold distance is between about 0.0 μm and about 7.0 μm (or between about 0.5 μm and about 6.5 μm, or between about 1.0 μm and about 6.0 μm, or between about 1.5 μm and about 5.5 μm, or between about 2.0 μm and about 5.0 μm, or between about 2.5 μm and about 4.5 μm, or between about 3.0 μm and about 4.0 μm, or between about 3.5 μm and about 5.0 μm, or between about 0.0 μm and about 6.5 μm, or between about 0.0 μm and about 6.0 μm, or between about 0.0 μm and about 5.5 μm, or between about 0.0 μm and about 5.0 μm). The distance between the optical component 125 and the housing component 130 may be about 0.0 μm to about 4.5 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 3.5 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 3.0 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 2.5 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 2.0 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 1.5 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 1.0 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 0.75 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 0.5 μm, about 0.0 μm to about 0.25 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.1 μm. The interface 120 may be defined by a surface of the optical component 125 and a surface of the housing component 130 that forms a common boundary between the optical component 125 and the housing component 130.

[0024] The optical component 125 may be bonded to the housing component 130 or another optical component in an area or region away from (e.g., outside of) the opening of the optical component 125. In some embodiments, the optical component 125 may be circular, and the interface 120 may be illuminated at or near the edge or periphery of the optical component 125 and in an azimuth angle near the periphery of the optical component 125. In such cases, there may be a continuous bonding zone near the periphery of the optical component 125, or there may be multiple discrete bonding zones near the periphery, which may be based on how the optical component 125 is to be attached to the housing component 130, the alignment of the optical component 125, the respective shapes of the optical component 125 and the housing component 130, the application of the optical assembly 135, or any combination thereof.

[0025] Thus, system 100 may be an example of a pulsed laser system that supports focused melting and joining of similar and dissimilar optically transparent components (such as optical component 125) to each other or to a mounting surface or housing with relatively high bond strength, a relatively small heat-affected zone, and without contamination. In some embodiments, light source 105 may be an example of a pulsed laser (e.g., a picosecond pulsed laser, a femtosecond pulsed laser, etc.) configured to operate at an optical wavelength λ. By way of example, light source 105 may be configured to operate at a UV wavelength, an infrared (IR) wavelength (e.g., wavelengths from about 750 nm to about 1 millimeter (mm)), or other wavelengths between UV and IR (e.g., visible light having wavelengths from about 700 nm to about 400 nm). Light source 105 may generate optical output in multiple pulses (e.g., bursts) at a repetition rate. Each laser beam pulse can include a burst of multiple sub-pulses, and the sub-pulses can have a duration of nanoseconds, picoseconds, or femtoseconds, among other exemplary durations. Light source 105 can be a mode-locked laser, a Q-switched laser, or a pulse-pumped laser that produces a pulsed output (e.g., a non-continuous output), among other examples. However, light source 105 can be an example of another type of laser or light source not mentioned herein, and the examples set forth herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims or the present disclosure.

[0026] In some aspects, the wavelength of the laser beam 115 output by the light source 105 can be configured to irradiate the interface 120 and thereby bond the optical component 125 and the housing component 130. For example, the wavelength λ of the light source 105 can be based on the material of the optical component 125 such that the optical component is substantially transparent to the laser light generated by the light source 105 (e.g., the optical component 125 may not absorb light of the wavelength λ output by the light source). The system 100 can additionally or alternatively include a different quantity (e.g., more) of light sources 105 than illustrated, which can provide additional flexibility and configurations for the system 100 and thereby enhance its ability to efficiently bond the optical component 125 and the housing component 130 (or bond multiple optical components 125). Furthermore, the light sources 105 can be oriented differently than illustrated in the system 100, which can enable bonding of various optical components 125 having different shapes, positions, configurations, orientations, and applications.

[0027] The one or more optical systems 110 may be examples of optical elements (e.g., lenses, mirrors, light sources, prisms, detectors, screens, dispersive components, filters, thin films, etc.) used to modify the laser beam 115. In some embodiments, the one or more optical systems 110 may be configured to focus the laser beam 115 output by the light source 105 onto the interface 120 to laser bond the optical component 125 and the housing component 130 (or to bond multiple optical components 125 together). For example, the one or more optical systems 110 may focus the laser beam 115 through the optical component 125 such that the focal length of the one or more optical systems 110 coincides with a first surface of the optical component 125, or a second surface of the housing component 130, or both, where the first surface and the second surface face each other and are spaced apart from each other at a distance (e.g., a threshold distance, a minimum distance) that allows bonding when the laser beam 115 is applied. In some cases, laser beam 115 may be directed onto one or more locations of interface 120 for a certain amount of time (e.g., onto an area, using a certain pattern) using one or more optics 110. That is, one or more optics 110 (and / or the position of light source 105) may allow illumination of interface 120 at various locations and angles to bond the parts together.

[0028] Optical component 125 may, in some cases, have a circular shape (e.g., a circular cylinder lens), although optical component 125 may have other shapes or geometries as described herein. Optical component 125 may be joined (e.g., coupled, held, attached, secured) to housing component 130 using laser beam 115 according to the described techniques. Optical component 125 may be an example of an optically transmissive substrate (e.g., a substrate that allows transmission of various wavelengths of light) that may be configured to refract, reflect, or diffract light of a wavelength(s) associated with one or more applications of the optical system. In some cases, optical component 125 may be optically transmissive to one or more wavelengths of light output by light source 105 such that electromagnetic radiation from light source 105 (e.g., corresponding to laser beam 115) substantially passes through optical component 125. For example, the transmittance of optical element 125 may be greater than a certain percentage of the wavelength of light source 105 relative to the normally incident light (e.g., greater than about 80 percent, greater than about 85 percent, or greater than about 90 percent). In other examples, at least a portion of the light output by light source 105 may be transmitted through optical element 125. In either case, the transmittance of optical element 125 may allow light from light source 105 to be transmitted through optical element 125 and focused onto interface 120, illuminating interface 120.

[0029] Furthermore, optical component 125 may be configured to operate in one or more optical systems, for example, based on the application or use of the optical system. In some cases, optical component 125 may include a material that is optically transparent to light having wavelengths in the visible or deep UV spectrum, among other example wavelengths, for use in optical systems operating at corresponding wavelengths. In some cases, optical component 125 may be an example of fused silica or optical glass. For example, optical component 125 may include a glass material, including, for example, an aluminosilicate glass material, an alkali aluminosilicate glass material, an aluminoborosilicate glass material, an alkali aluminoborosilicate glass material, a soda-lime glass material, a borosilicate glass material, an alkali borosilicate glass material, or other types of glass materials. In another example, optical component 125 may include a glass material with a relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), which may be referred to as an ultra-low expansion glass material. In some embodiments, optical component 125 may be an example of a crystalline material, such as calcium fluoride (CaF), quartz, or other crystalline material. In other examples, optical component 125 may include magnesium fluoride (MgF2) or zinc selenide (ZnSe). Additionally or alternatively, optical component 125 may be another type of material or materials, and the examples provided herein should not be considered limiting to the claims or the scope of this disclosure.

[0030] Based on the application of the optical system (e.g., microscopy, imaging, photolithography, laser optics, medical applications, among other example applications), the optical component 125 may be positioned (e.g., aligned) and bonded to the housing component 130 (or another optical component 125) based on a set of parameters (e.g., with a certain precision) to ensure proper functionality of the optical system including the optical component 125 (and optical assembly 135). The alignment configuration between the optical component 125 and the housing component 130 may be established before bonding the components together. More specifically, prior to one or more laser bonding processes that irradiate the surface of the optical component 125, or the surface of the housing component 130, or both, the position and / or orientation of the optical component 125 may be adjusted (e.g., modified) to meet one or more design parameters. As an illustrative example, the optical component 125 may be a lens, and including the optical component 125 in the optical system may require the optical component 125 to be aligned with one or more other lenses, mirrors, or other optical components of the optical system.

[0031] Thus, before the optical component 125 is attached (e.g., permanently attached) to the housing component 130 using the described laser bonding techniques, the optical component 125 may be aligned according to certain predetermined specifications or parameters for the optical component 125. Techniques for aligning (e.g., setting an alignment configuration for) the optical component 125 may include, among other examples, lateral alignment (e.g., displacing the optical component 125 in one or more directions), angular alignment (e.g., tilting or tilting the optical component 125 to modify the optical axis of the optical component 125), and rotational alignment (e.g., rotating the optical component 125 about its optical axis). Aligning the optical component 125 may result in the orientation and position of the optical component 125 relative to the housing component 130 before the components are coupled together. In some aspects, the alignment configuration may be achieved based on the location of one or more opposing surfaces that are bonded together, the position of one or more opposing surfaces that are bonded together, the shape of one or more facing surfaces that are bonded together, or any combination thereof. In some aspects, optical component 125 may be aligned using a device or fixture (e.g., a vacuum chuck or other device) that holds optical component 125 and modifies the position and / or orientation of optical component 125. In other aspects, optical component 125 may be placed on and rest on a surface of housing component 130 (or another optical component) prior to bonding.

[0032] In some cases, housing component 130 may be an example of a mechanical component or other type of component configured to support one or more optical components (e.g., including optical component 125). Housing component 130 may include one or more metallic materials, or may include hardened materials, materials that accept various types of plating (e.g., electroless nickel), or materials that can be passivated. For example, housing component 130 may be or include one or more metallic materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, etc., among other examples. In some cases, housing component 130 may include one or more plated materials (e.g., materials plated with nickel, zinc, tin, etc.), or housing component 130 may additionally or alternatively include one or more anodized materials (e.g., anodized aluminum, aluminum alloy, magnesium, titanium, stainless steel, etc.). In some examples, housing component 130 may include one or more low-expansion alloys (e.g., capable of having a relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion), such as Invar (FeNi36), among other examples of low-expansion alloys. Other materials for the housing component 130 may be possible, and the examples provided herein should not be considered limiting.

[0033] In some aspects, system 100 may include one or more positioning devices 140. In one embodiment, positioning device 140 may be an example of a structural component (e.g., a metal structural component) that supports housing component 130 while optical component 125 and housing component 130 are bonded together using incident laser beam 115. Here, positioning device 140 may correspond to a fiducial location used to bond optical component 125 and housing component 130. Additionally or alternatively, positioning device 140 may be configured to move or position optical component 125 and housing component 130, for example, before and / or during the laser bonding process. In one embodiment, positioning device 140 may be an example of a rotating plate configured to rotate the optical assembly during the laser bonding process (e.g., to achieve bonding in an annular-shaped zone near the periphery of optical component 125). Furthermore, one or more positioning devices 140 may be used to move or position optical assembly 135, for example, after the bonding process (e.g., for further processing or one or more other manufacturing processes).

[0034] In some embodiments, one or more absorbing layers (e.g., metal absorbing layers) may be applied to the optical component 125 and / or the housing component 130 to enhance adhesion (e.g., increase bond strength) and expand the processing window for joining similar and dissimilar materials. As an example, one or more layers of a metal or metal oxide coating may be applied to the optical component 125 and / or the housing component 130. The absorbing layer(s) may be applied to a surface (e.g., a portion of a surface) of the optical component 125 and / or the housing component 130. Here, the one or more absorbing layers may be applied, for example, in an annular shape on the surface of the optical component 125 (e.g., at or near the outer periphery of the optical component), and the surface may correspond to the interface 120 between the optical component 125 and the housing component 130 (e.g., the surface of the optical component 125 that contacts and forms a common boundary with the surface of the housing component). Thus, absorbing layers may be used in one or more zones (which may be referred to herein as bonding zones) where laser bonding occurs (e.g., along interface 120), which can improve bonding efficiency and enable a larger process window or improved mechanical performance of optical assembly 135. That is, absorbing layers can be any material that enhances the bond between optical component 125 and housing component 130 (or between optical component 125 and another optical component). In some embodiments, one or more absorbing layers can include a thin film protective coating. In some examples, one or more absorbing layers can be approximately 120 to 300 nanometers (nm) thick.

[0035] Thus, system 100 may support enhanced bonding techniques for bonding optical components (such as optical component 125) to other optical or housing components 130. While the described bonding techniques enable the joining of materials without the use of organic materials (e.g., organic adhesives) and provide a mechanically robust bond between the materials, the laser bonding described herein may further be associated with relatively high manufacturing throughput and efficiency. In particular, when optical component 125 and housing component 130 (or another optical component 125) are bonded together, the elimination of organic adhesives may allow the optical component to be used in various operating environments where organic adhesives (e.g., adhesives with undesirable chemical or outgassing properties) would otherwise degrade, introduce contamination issues, and weaken the bond between the components. Furthermore, the use of laser bonding may relatively increase the bond strength between different components, which may allow the bond in optical assembly 135 to better withstand various stresses imposed on optical assembly 135 (e.g., during operation, transportation) compared to when adhesives are used to bond the components. Thus, the described laser-bonded optical assembly 135 may include an optical component 125 having a permanent, stable connection with one or more other components. In such cases, the effective bond from the laser process may be inorganic and not degrade with the operating wavelength and power level of the optical system. Furthermore, the bonded components may have little or no contamination (e.g., having undesirable chemical or outgassing properties) that may otherwise be present with the use of adhesive materials.

[0036] The described bonding processes may be used in conjunction with one or more other joining techniques to increase the durability and lifespan of connections across operating or non-operating environmental ranges (e.g., shipping, transportation, transients). For example, laser bonding supported by system 100 may be used with optical contacting techniques, where two or more components may first be joined via optical contact and then bonded at the interface using the pulsed laser beam 115 of light source 105. Such techniques may be used to improve stability across temperature ranges or components with different CTEs. Additionally or alternatively, the described laser bonding techniques may be used to create elastomeric hybrid optical assemblies, where one or more structures may be coupled (e.g., bonded) to the optical component 125 and an adhesive (e.g., an elastomeric adhesive) may be used in zones outside the optical volume. In some other examples, laser bonding techniques may be used to fabricate flex hybrid assemblies, where one or more flex structures may be bonded to the optical component 125, where the flex structures may help to isolate stresses from the optical component 125 while providing enhanced adjustability and alignment.

[0037] In some embodiments, the optical component 125 can be bonded to one or more other components with a pulsed laser to create a seal between the components, which may enable the use of the optical assembly 135 in pressurized or vacuum applications. Similarly, such assemblies can be used for mounting in relatively high-power and high-vacuum optical systems. As a result of laser bonding, stress and / or material damage near the bond location can be relatively localized (e.g., within an area on the order of tens of micrometers (μm)), thereby minimizing the impact of the bonding process on optical performance.

[0038] Additionally, the bonding process and infrastructure (e.g., galvano-driven or computer numerical control (CNC)-driven laser positioning and focusing at ambient conditions) can be efficiently adapted to existing adhesive bonding processes and infrastructures. Such laser bonding techniques can offer relatively improved processing throughput achieved through relatively low bond times (e.g., seconds versus minutes) and require relatively less operator skill, for example, through the use of computer-controlled equipment. Additionally, for scenarios where an absorber layer is not used, no block coating for adhesive protection is required, thereby avoiding additional costs in the manufacturing process.

[0039] FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example of an optical assembly 200 supporting a laser-bonded optical assembly in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The optical assembly 200 may be an example of the optical assembly 135 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical assembly 200 may include multiple optical components (e.g., optical components 225-a, 225-b, 225-c, 225-d, 225-e, and 225-f) that are laser-bonded to respective housing components (e.g., housing components 230-a, 230-b, 230-c, 230-d, and 230-e) according to the described techniques. In addition, the optical assembly 200 may include one or more optical components that are laser-bonded to other optical components (e.g., the third optical component 225-c may be laser-bonded to the fourth optical component 225-d). Each of the optical components may be an example of the optical component 125 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, one or more of the respective optical components may be an example of a light-transmitting substrate. Similarly, each housing component may be an example of housing component 130 described with reference to FIG. 1, which may include, for example, one or more metallic materials.

[0040] The various optical components (e.g., optical components 225-a through 225-f) of optical assembly 200 may be bonded together, which may be based on the respective alignment configurations of the optical components and housing components. For example, optical assembly 200 may be an example objective lens (e.g., an optical element that collects light from an object being observed and focuses light rays) that includes multiple optical components (e.g., optical components configured for refraction, reflection, or diffraction of light) bonded to one or more other optical or housing components (e.g., a housing, holder, support component) to create the objective lens. Prior to bonding, each optical component of optical assembly 200 is aligned such that the alignment of each optical component meets parameters associated with the functionality and operation of optical assembly 200. For example, an optical component may be aligned relative to one or more other optical components of optical assembly 200, and the combination of optical components may be aligned according to the alignment configuration (e.g., to achieve the design parameters of optical assembly 200). As discussed above, an alignment configuration may result from alignment (e.g., lateral alignment, angular alignment, rotational alignment) of an optical component relative to one or more other optical components and / or housing components.

[0041] Optical assembly 200 may be an example of an objective lens having a six-element catadioptric design. Each optical component of optical assembly 200 may be a circular lens, and the outer edges of the housing components may have a circular configuration. Each housing component (e.g., housing components 230-a through 230-e) may be connected to one another (e.g., bolted together) to form an objective lens assembly. Furthermore, each housing component may surround (e.g., at least partially surround) one or more optical components of optical assembly 200.

[0042] Each of the six optical components is supported by the housing component or each other near the periphery of the optical component, and each optical component can be secured using the laser bonding techniques described herein. For example, a pulsed laser can be used to irradiate the interfaces between the respective components at peripheral locations to couple (e.g., bond) the optical component to the housing component and to other optical components. The interfaces between the components can be defined by a surface of the optical component and a surface of the housing component (or other optical component) that forms a common boundary between the optical component and the housing component (or other optical component). It is understood that each of the optical components exemplified by optical assembly 200 can be circular, and the interfaces extend annularly around the optical component (e.g., the optical component can annularly contact the corresponding housing component at one or more surfaces of the optical component that correspond to the interfaces). One or more of the optical components can be bonded to the housing component by irradiating (e.g., using a pulsed laser) the interfaces between the optical component and the housing component. The interface may be illuminated azimuthally around the optical component in a pattern or sequence of bond zones (e.g., zones where bonding occurs between two materials), for example, at or near the edge of each optical component. Thus, there may be a continuous bond zone around the periphery of the optical component (e.g., as disclosed further below), or there may be multiple discrete bond zones at or near the periphery or elsewhere, which may be based on the alignment configuration, or the application of optical assembly 200, or both.

[0043] In the illustrated example, the first optical component 225-a may be laser bonded to the first housing component 230-a. In such a case, a pulsed laser may be incident on the first optical component 225-a and focused onto the interface 220-a between the surface of the first optical component 225-a and the surface of the first housing component 230-a (which may be an example of the interface 120 described with reference to FIG. 1 ). Thus, the pulsed laser may be irradiated onto the surface of the first optical component 225-a, the surface of the first housing component 230-a, or both, causing at least partial melting of the material of the first optical component 225-a, the material of the first housing component 230-a, or both.

[0044] In some examples, the pulsed laser (which may be, for example, an example of the light source 105 described with reference to FIG. 1) may be oriented or positioned based on how the first optical component 225-a is to be attached to the first housing component 230-a (e.g., based on the orientation and position of the first optical component 225-a relative to the first housing component 230-a).

[0045] Prior to bonding, the optical component 225-a can be aligned using various alignment techniques to achieve an aligned configuration that meets one or more parameters. In this example, the optical component 225-a is a circular lens, and the optical component 225-a can be bonded to the housing component 230-a using an outer diameter bonding technique, where the outer diameter of the optical component 225-a can be laser bonded to the housing component 230-a that surrounds the optical component 225-a. A pulsed laser beam can create one or more bonding zones 240 at the interface 220-a (e.g., in a relatively small radial space around the outer periphery of the first optical component 225-a). Additionally or alternatively, one or more optical systems (such as one or more optical systems 110 described with reference to FIG. 1 ) can be used to modify the direction or other parameters of a pulsed laser beam irradiated onto the interface 220-a between the first optical component 225-a and the first housing component 230-a to create the bonding zones 240. In either case, the partial melting of the material(s) at the bonding zone 240 may enable a relatively strong, permanent bond between the first optical component 225-a and the first housing component 230-a after the bonding process (e.g., after the material has solidified). Thus, the first optical component 225-a and the first housing component 230-a may be bonded without the use of adhesive materials, thereby avoiding one or more problems associated with optical adhesives in the optical assembly 200.

[0046] As further illustrated by optical assembly 200, second optical component 225-b may be laser bonded to second housing component 230-b, for example, by irradiating interface 220-b between second optical component 225-b and second housing component 230-b (which may be one example of interface 120 described with reference to FIG. 1 ). In such a case, bond zone 245 may be created in a relatively small radial space around (or near) the outer periphery of second optical component 225-b, where one or more materials of second optical component 225-b, second housing component 230-b, or both, are at least partially melted.

[0047] As further illustrated, the third optical component 225-c can be bonded to a third housing component 230-c that at least partially surrounds the third optical component 225-c. In such a case, a pulsed laser can be focused at or near the outer periphery of the third optical component 225-c to create a bond zone 250 (e.g., an annular bond zone) around the third optical component 225-c. Thus, the bond zone 250 can include material of the third optical component 225-c, material of the third housing component 230-c, or both, that at least partially melts and then re-solidifies to create a bond between the components. Additionally, the fourth optical component 225-d can be laser bonded to the third optical component 225-c, for example, at one or more bond zones 255 near the outer periphery of the fourth optical component 225-d (e.g., in a relatively small radial space near the outer periphery of the fourth optical component 225-d). Here, the third optical component 225-c and the fourth optical component 225-d may be bonded together before the third optical component 225-c is bonded to the third housing component 230-c. In another example, the third optical component 225-c and the fourth optical component 225-d may be bonded together after the third optical component 225-c is bonded to the third housing component 230-c.

[0048] The fifth optical component 225-e may be laser bonded to the fourth housing component 230-d. In such a case, a bond zone 260 may be created in a relatively small radial space around (or near) the outer periphery of the fifth optical component 225-e where one or more materials of the fifth optical component 225-e, the fourth housing component 230-d, or both, are at least partially melted by the pulsed laser.

[0049] In the optical assembly 200, the sixth optical component 225-f is laser bonded to the fifth housing component 230-e. In such a case, the sixth optical component 225-f may be positioned and / or oriented such that an outer surface of the sixth optical component 225-f is in contact with or a threshold distance away from an inner surface of the fifth housing component 230-e (e.g., including an interface 220-c between the sixth optical component 225-f and the fifth housing component 230-e, which may be an example of interface 120 described with reference to FIG. 1). For example, the threshold distance may be from about 0.0 μm to about 7.0 μm (or from about 0.5 μm to about 6.5 μm, or from about 1.0 μm to about 6.0 μm, or from about 1.5 μm to about 5.5 μm, or from about 2.0 μm to about 5.0 μm, or from about 2.5 μm to about 4.5 μm, or from about 3.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, or from about 3.5 μm to about 5.0 μm, or from about 0.0 μm to about 6.5 μm, or from about 0.0 μm to about 6.0 μm, or from about 0.0 μm to about 5.5 μm, or from about 0.0 μm to about 5.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 4.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.75 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.25 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.1 μm). After positioning the sixth optical component 225-f, the interface 220-c between the sixth optical component 225-f and the fifth housing component 230-e may be irradiated with pulsed laser light (e.g., high-energy laser light) to bond the sixth optical component 225-f and the fifth housing component 230-e at one or more bonding zones 265 around the circumference of the sixth optical component 225-f. This bonding may be based on a distance between a surface of the sixth optical component 225-f and a facing surface of the fifth housing component 230-e satisfying a threshold (e.g., minimum) distance, a threshold (e.g., minimum) number of passes using the pulsed laser light, or both.In such an example, the sixth optical component 225-f may be bonded to the fifth housing component 230-e, for example, such that the bonding zone 265 may correspond to a relatively small space or area near the peripheral edge of the sixth optical component 225-f and along the outer region of the optical surface or bevel of the sixth optical component 225-f.

[0050] Thus, optical assembly 200 may include one or more optical components that are bonded to a housing component or to each other using a pulsed laser beam. As a result, optical assembly 200 may support improved durability, thereby enhancing the lifespan of optical assembly 200. Furthermore, optical assembly 200 may be free of some adhesive materials (e.g., glue materials), avoiding contamination or other issues associated with adhesives.

[0051] 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example of an optical assembly 300 that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The optical assembly 300 may be an example of the optical assembly 135 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical assembly 300 may include a first optical component 325-a that is laser-bonded to a second optical component 325-b in accordance with the described techniques. The first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b may each be an example of the optical component 125 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b may each be an example of an optically transparent substrate.

[0052] The first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b may be bonded based on an alignment configuration of the two components. As an example, the first optical component 325-a may be aligned with the second optical component 325-b based on one or more design specifications and / or operation of the optical assembly 300, and the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b are aligned prior to laser bonding the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b. As illustrated, the optical assembly 300 may be an example of a doublet (e.g., a refractive doublet) including a first optical component 325-a, which may be a convex optical component (e.g., a bi-convex lens, a double-convex lens, etc.), and a second optical component 325-b, which may be a concave optical component (e.g., a bi-concave lens, etc.), which may have substantially the same radius of curvature on both sides of each component. In some embodiments, the optical assembly 300 may function similarly to a plano-convex lens, for example, by focusing parallel light rays (e.g., via the first optical component 325-a) to a single point with a bi-concave element (e.g., the second optical component 325-b). In some examples, the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b may first be bonded via contact bonding before being laser bonded. Contact bonding (e.g., optical contact bonding) may refer to one or more processes by which highly polished, conformal surfaces are bonded together without the use of adhesives. Instead, bonding is achieved through physical adhesion and intermolecular bonding of the polished surfaces. In such cases, contact bonding may be used to initially bond the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b, while subsequent laser bonding of the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b may enable a more permanent bond between the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b. Here, the permanent bond achieved by laser bonding may increase resistance to mechanical stresses imposed on the optical assembly 300, such as vibrations during transportation of the optical assembly 300, thereby enhancing the durability of the optical assembly 300.

[0053] In some embodiments, the first optical component 325-a may be bonded to the second optical component 325-b at one or more bonding locations (or zones) at the interface 320 between the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b, where the interface 320 may be defined by a first surface of the first optical component 325-a and an opposing second surface of the second optical component 325-b. This bonding may be achieved by irradiating one or more locations of the interface 320 with radiation from a pulsed laser beam 315 (which may be, for example, an example of the laser beam 115 described with reference to FIG. 1 ), which may at least partially melt the material of the first optical component 325-a, the material of the second optical component 325-b, or both, at the one or more locations of the interface 320.

[0054] To effect bonding between the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b, the laser beam 315 may be focused (e.g., at a location and an angle θ) through the top surface 340 of the first optical component 325-a near the outer edge or zone of the mating curvature between the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b to create the bond (e.g., using one or more passes of the laser beam 315, using a threshold number of passes of the laser beam 315, irradiating the surface for a threshold duration). In such a case, the angle θ (e.g., the angle of incidence) of the laser beam 315 may correspond to the angle at which light from the laser beam 315 passed through the first optical component 325-a to enable bonding between the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b. The angle may be configurable based on the first optical component 325-a (e.g., the material of the first optical component 325-a). In one example, the angle θ may correspond to a polarization angle (e.g., Brewster's angle) at which light having a certain polarization may be transmitted through the first optical component 325-a (e.g., a light-transmitting substrate), e.g., without reflection. Other angles may be possible, for example, such that the laser beam 315 transmits through the volume of the first optical component 325-a and is incident on an interface to bond the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b.

[0055] Here, the bond may exist as an azimuthally continuous path in the bond zone 345 or at multiple discrete azimuth locations, with several benefits and performance tradeoffs for strength and stress within the components near the bond (e.g., the bond zone 345). In some embodiments, the bond zone 345 may be located a distance from the edge of the first optical component 325-a. For example, the bond zone 345 may be up to about 3 mm from the edge of the first optical component 325-a. In some cases, the location of the bond zone may be configured to be a distance (e.g., about 100 μm, about 200 μm, or more) from the edge of the first optical component 325-a to avoid damage to the edge of the first optical component 325-a. In addition, the bonding zone 345 may be located outside the transparent opening (e.g., the area or volume through which light may pass through the first optical component 325-a) of the first optical component 325-a, for example, to ensure the functionality of the optical assembly 300. Furthermore, because the laser beam 315 can be applied with a pattern (e.g., a raster pattern) in an area and can occur where contact is made (e.g., an ambient temperature bonding process (i.e., over the nanosecond pulse duration of the laser beam 315) or in a zone with a relatively small gap (i.e., over the picosecond or femtosecond pulse duration of the laser beam 315), knowledge of the location(s) (e.g., exact location(s)) of the contact zone(s) between the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b (e.g., at or near the interface 320) may not be necessary. That is, bonding can occur at one or more illuminated locations where the distance between the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b meets a certain threshold distance.As an example, the threshold distance may be from about 0.0 μm to about 7.0 μm (or from about 0.5 μm to about 6.5 μm, or from about 1.0 μm to about 6.0 μm, or from about 1.5 μm to about 5.5 μm, or from about 2.0 μm to about 5.0 μm, or from about 2.5 μm to about 4.5 μm, or from about 3.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, or from about 3.5 μm to about 5.0 μm, or from about 0.0 μm to about 6.5 μm, or from about 0.0 μm to about 6.0 μm, or from about 0.0 μm to about 5.5 μm, or from about 0.0 μm to about 5.0 μm, Alternatively, the distance may be about 0.0 μm to about 4.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.75 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.25 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.1 μm. As a result, the first optical component 325-a and the second optical component 325-b can be bonded together without the use of an adhesive material, and they can have a relatively strong, permanent bond.

[0056] Thus, optical assembly 300 may include optical components that are bonded to housing components or to each other using a pulsed laser beam. As a result, optical assembly 300 may be able to withstand operating environments that use several wavelengths (e.g., DUV wavelengths, EUV wavelengths) and relatively high vacuum applications, among other applications.

[0057] FIG. 4 illustrates an isometric view of an example of an optical assembly 400 supporting a laser-bonded optical assembly in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The optical assembly 400 may be an example of the optical assembly 135 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical assembly 400 may include a first optical component 425-a laser-bonded to a second optical component 425-b in accordance with the described technique. The first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b may each be an example of the optical component 125 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b may each be an example of an optically transparent substrate. In the optical assembly 400, the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b may each have a triangular shape. For example, the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b may be triangular prisms. The optical assembly 400 may be an example that supports multiple bonding techniques, such as using contact bonding (e.g., optical contact bonding) to provide an initial bond between the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b (as described below), in addition to bonding using a pulsed high-energy laser to permanently and securely bond the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b.

[0058] The first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b can be bonded based on an alignment configuration of the two components. For example, the optical assembly 400 can be an example of a cube beamsplitter, and the alignment configuration can include the first optical component 425-a attached to the second optical component 425-b using contact bonding. In particular, the beam splitting surface can be created by optically contacting the first optical component 425-a (e.g., a first right-angle triangular prism) and the second optical component 425-b (e.g., a second right-angle triangular prism) along the hypotenuse faces of the respective components. Contact bonding (e.g., optical contact bonding) can refer to one or more processes in which highly polished conformal surfaces are bonded together without the use of adhesives. Instead, bonding is achieved through physical adhesion and intermolecular bonding of the polished surfaces. Various techniques for contact bonding may be used to initially bond the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b. In such cases, contact bonding may be used to initially bond the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b, while subsequent laser bonding of the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b may enable a more permanent bond between the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b. Here, the permanent bond achieved by laser bonding may increase resistance to mechanical stresses imposed on the optical assembly 400, such as vibration or thermal stresses that occur during transportation of the optical assembly 400, thereby enhancing the durability of the optical assembly 400.

[0059] Additionally, one or more laser beams 415 may be focused through one or more of the other surfaces (e.g., functional surfaces) of the cube beamsplitter onto an interface 420 (e.g., corresponding to the beam-splitting surface) between the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b to permanently bond the components together. As illustrated, the laser beam 415 may be incident on the first surface 445 of the second optical component 425-b, and the laser beam may be focused onto the interface 420 to irradiate one or more facing surfaces of the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b (e.g., the surface of the first optical component 425-a, the surface of the second optical component 425-b, or both) to bond the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b. Bonding may be performed in one or more patterns, and the interface 420 may be irradiated using continuous or discrete techniques. Additionally, the bonding zone created by irradiating interface 420 may occur outside of the transparent opening in the surface of optical assembly 400. For example, the bonding zone may be set or configured to occur outside of openings 450-a and 450-b such that the optical performance of optical assembly 400 is not affected by the laser bonding of first optical component 425-a and second optical component 425-b.

[0060] In some embodiments, additional components (e.g., optical components, housing components) may be bonded to some other surface (e.g., a non-functional surface (i.e., top or bottom surface) of the first optical component 425-a or the second optical component 425-b) for additional fixation of the connection between the first optical component 425-a and the second optical component 425-b (e.g., two halves of a cube beamsplitter) or for attachment to other components for further assembly with or adjacent to other optical assemblies in the optical system. Thus, laser bonding techniques may enable efficient and reliable bonding of two or more optical components without the use of adhesive materials. Furthermore, the optical assembly 400 may be able to withstand operating environments using some wavelengths (e.g., DUV wavelengths, EUV wavelengths) and relatively high vacuum applications, among other advantages.

[0061] 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example of an optical assembly 500 that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The optical assembly 500 may be an example of the optical assembly 135 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical assembly 500 may include an optical component 525 that is laser-bonded to a housing component 530 according to the described techniques. The optical component 525 may be an example of the optical component 125 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical component 525 may be an example of an optically transparent substrate. The housing component 530 may also be an example of the housing component 130 described with reference to FIG. 1, which may include, for example, one or more metallic materials.

[0062] The optical component 525 and the housing component 530 can be bonded together based on the alignment configuration of the two components. As an example, the optical assembly 500 can be an example of a refractive lens element attached to a housing (e.g., housing component 530) near the periphery of the optical component 525 (e.g., lens element). As illustrated, the interface 520 (e.g., a portion of the optical component 525 and the housing component 530 that is in contact or near contact) can be based on the housing component 530 having a protrusion to which the optical component 525 can be attached and bonded. Here, the protrusion can have a surface 555 at or near the inner diameter of the housing component 530 that locally contacts (e.g., nominally contacts) a surface 560 of the optical component 525. In some cases, the surface 555 can have a geometry that approximately matches the local slope of the convex optical surface (e.g., surface 560) of the optical component 525 at that location (e.g., around the circumference of the optical component 525). In some embodiments, the inner diameter of housing component 530 can have a conical shape, i.e., housing component 530 can include a conical bore such that the edge of the bore is configured to support the portion of optical component 525 on optical surface 560 that is in contact with the conical bore.

[0063] When the optical component 525 is supported by a surface 555 of the housing component 530 on an optical surface 560 of the optical component 525 and near the outer diameter of the optical component 525, a laser beam 515 may be irradiated at the interface 520 between the optical component 525 and the housing component 530. The laser beam 515 may be used to locally melt (e.g., at least partially melt) the material of the optical component 525, or the material of the housing component 530, or both, to enable bonding between the optical component 525 and the housing component 530. In such an example, the laser beam 515 may be focused through the surface 540 of the optical component 525, and the laser beam 515 may be positioned and oriented (e.g., at a location and an angle θ) such that the laser beam 515 focuses on and creates a bonding zone 550 between the optical component 525 and the conical seat of the housing component 530. The bond zone 550 may correspond to one or more locations at the interface 520 where the housing component 530 and the optical component 525 are permanently laser bonded. The angle θ of the laser beam 515 may be configured to allow the laser beam 515 to penetrate the volume of the optical component 525 so that the laser beam 515 is incident on the interface 520 between the optical component 525 and the housing component 530. Furthermore, the laser beam 515 may be rastered (or applied in some other pattern, continuously or non-continuously) in several regions or patterns, for example, in azimuth angles around the circumference of the optical component 525, to bond the optical component 525 and the housing component 530 at the bond zone 550. In such cases, bonding may occur at illuminated locations where the distance between the optical component 525 and the housing component 530 meets a certain threshold (e.g., minimum) distance.For example, the threshold distance may be about 0.0 μm to about 7.0 μm (or about 0.5 μm to about 6.5 μm, or about 1.0 μm to about 6.0 μm, or about 1.5 μm to about 5.5 μm, or about 2.0 μm to about 5.0 μm, or about 2.5 μm to about 4.5 μm, or about 3.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, or about 3.5 μm to about 5.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 6.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 6.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 5.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 5.0 μm, can be a distance of about 0.0 μm to about 4.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.75 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.25 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.1 μm). Additionally or alternatively, bonding may occur at irradiated locations where the laser beam 515 passes over one or more locations a threshold (e.g., minimum) number of times, or a threshold (e.g., minimum) duration, or both. As a result, the optical component 525 and the housing component 530 can be bonded without the use of adhesive materials and can have a relatively strong, permanent bond achieved by a relatively fast and relatively efficient laser bonding process.

[0064] 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example of an optical assembly 600 that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The optical assembly 600 may be an example of the optical assembly 135 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical assembly 600 may include an optical component 625 that is laser-bonded to a housing component 630 according to the described techniques. The optical component 625 may be an example of the optical component 125 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical component 625 may be an example of an optically transparent substrate. The housing component 630 may also be an example of the housing component 130 described with reference to FIG. 1, which may include, for example, one or more metallic materials.

[0065] Optical component 625 and housing component 630 may be bonded together based on the alignment configuration of the two components. As an example, optical assembly 600 may be an example of a refractive lens element attached to a housing (e.g., housing component 630) near the periphery of optical component 625 (e.g., lens element). As illustrated, interface 620 (e.g., the portions of optical component 625 and housing component 630 that are in contact) may be based on a bevel feature on optical component 625 that may be nominally perpendicular to the optical axis (e.g., the axis of symmetry of optical assembly 600) that coincides with a ledge near the inner diameter of housing component 630. In this example, bonding zone 650 may be located in a “non-functional” portion of the optical surface of optical component 625 and may instead be a bevel or edge that may serve one or more other functions in the manufacturing process or may be designated for mounting (e.g., mounting optical component 625 to housing component 630). Stated another way, housing component 630 can include a top surface 655 that is perpendicular to central axis 657 along the longitudinal length of the circular hole formed by the inner diameter of housing component 630, where top surface 655 is configured to support edge surface 660 of optical component 625. Surface 655 of housing component 630 can be nominally tangent to (or parallel to) a mating surface (e.g., surface 660) between optical component 625 and housing component 630. The location where surface 655 and surface 660 meet can correspond to interface 620.

[0066] When the optical component 625 is supported by a top surface 655 of the housing component 630 on an edge surface 660 (e.g., a bottom surface) and near the outer diameter of the optical component 625, a laser beam 615 may be irradiated at the interface 620 between the optical component 625 and the housing component 630 at one or more bonding zones 650. The laser beam 615 may be used to locally melt (e.g., at least partially melt) the material of the optical component 625, or the material of the housing component 630, or both, to enable bonding between the optical component 625 and the housing component 630. In such an example, the laser beam 615 may be focused through the surface 640 of the optical component 625, and the laser beam 615 may be positioned and oriented (e.g., at a location and an angle θ) such that the laser beam 615 is focused on the bonding zone 650 between the optical component 625 and the conical seat of the housing component 630. The bonding zone 650 may correspond to one or more locations of the interface 620 where the housing component 630 and the optical component 625 are permanently laser bonded. The angle θ of the laser beam 615 may be configured to allow the laser beam 615 to penetrate the volume of the optical component 625 so that the laser beam 615 is incident on the interface 620 between the optical component 625 and the housing component 630. Furthermore, the laser beam 615 may be rastered (or applied in some other pattern, continuously or non-continuously) to bond the bonding zone 650 in several regions or patterns, for example, in azimuth angles around the circumference of the optical component 625. In such cases, bonding may occur at illuminated locations where the distance between the optical component 625 and the housing component 630 meets a threshold (e.g., minimum) distance. Additionally or alternatively, bonding may occur at illuminated locations where the laser beam 615 passes through one or more locations a threshold (e.g., minimum) number of times or for a threshold (e.g., minimum) duration. As a result, the optical component 625 and the housing component 630 can be bonded without the use of adhesive materials and can have a relatively strong, permanent bond achieved by a relatively fast and relatively efficient laser bonding process.

[0067] 7 illustrates an example of an optical assembly 700 supporting a laser-bonded optical assembly in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The optical assembly 700 may be an example of the optical assembly 135 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical assembly 700 may include a first optical component 725-a that is laser-bonded to a second optical component 725-b in accordance with the described techniques. The first optical component 725-a and the second optical component 725-b may each be an example of the optical component 125 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the first optical component 725-a and the second optical component 725-b may be an example of an optically transparent substrate.

[0068] The first optical component 725-a and the second optical component 725-b can be bonded based on the alignment configuration of the two components. For example, the optical assembly 700 can be an example of a reflective optical assembly at a planar bevel interface. Here, the first optical component 725-a and the second optical component 725-b can be attached to each other using a pulsed laser before being further attached to form an optical system (e.g., before being attached to one or more other optical components, before being attached to one or more housing components). In some examples, the optical assembly 700 can be an example of an optical subassembly that is part of an objective lens (e.g., as described with reference to the optical assembly 200 described with reference to FIG. 2 , corresponding to the third optical component 225-c and the fourth optical component 225-d). Here, the first optical component 725-a and the second optical component 725-b can include multiple (e.g., three) bonding zones 750 where the first optical component 725-a and the second optical component 725-b contact each other. For example, each bonding zone 750 may correspond to a location between the facing surfaces of the first optical component 725-a and the second optical component 725-b. That is, the laser beam may penetrate a volume of the first optical component 725-a incident at each bonding zone 750 to enable at least partial melting of one or more surfaces of the first optical component 725-a and / or the second optical component 725-b. In some embodiments, the three bonding zones 750 may be prepared (e.g., prior to laser bonding) using a surface finish or one or more other processes to enable bonding at the bonding zones 750.

[0069] Thus, each of the bonding zones 750 may be created by radiation via a pulsed laser beam focused onto the interface 720 between a first surface of the first optical component 725-a and a second, opposing surface of the second optical component 725-b. The pulsed laser beam may be applied to one or more of the respective surfaces to bond the first optical component 725-a and the second optical component 725-b together (e.g., through at least partial melting and subsequent solidification of one or more materials). Such a technique may allow the first optical component 725-a and the second optical component 725-b to be bonded together efficiently and relatively quickly without the use of adhesive materials.

[0070] 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example of an optical assembly 800 that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The optical assembly 800 may be an example of the optical assembly 135 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical assembly 800 may include an optical component 825 that is laser-bonded to a housing component 830 according to the described techniques. The optical component 825 may be an example of the optical component 125 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical component 825 may be an example of an optically transparent substrate. The housing component 830 may also be an example of the housing component 130 described with reference to FIG. 1, which may include, for example, one or more metallic materials.

[0071] Optical assembly 800 may illustrate one or more functional components that can be laser bonded to optical component 825 (e.g., either before or after optical component 825 is bonded to housing component 830). That is, optical assembly 800 may be an example of a multi-component assembly created through laser bonding of multiple different materials and components. As an example, optical component 825 may have optic 870 (e.g., a right-angle triangular prism) bonded to optical component 825, for example, using the described laser bonding techniques. In some examples, optic 870 may be an example of an optically transparent substrate such as a glass material or a calcium fluoride material, among other examples. Optical component 870 may be bonded to optical component 825 by focusing a pulsed laser beam passing through optical component 825 onto one or more contact zones of optical component 870.

[0072] Additionally, a shielding component 875 (e.g., blocking component) may be bonded to the optical component 825, which may function to minimize or reduce stray light that may occur in applications of the optical assembly 800. In some examples, the shielding component 875 may include one or more metallic materials or other materials that may block or otherwise absorb or reflect light. The shielding component 875 may be bonded to the optical component 825 by focusing a pulsed laser beam passing through the optical component 825 onto one or more contact zones of the shielding component 875.

[0073] 9 illustrates an example of an optical assembly 900 that supports a laser-bonded optical assembly in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The optical assembly 900 may be an example of the optical assembly 135 described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the optical assembly 900 may include an optical component 925, which may be an example of the optical component 125 described with reference to FIG. 1. The optical component 925 may be an example of an optically transparent substrate. The optical component 925 may have a variety of geometric shapes included around the periphery of the optical component 925. Additionally or alternatively, the optical component 925 may have one or more beveled surfaces or other configurations.

[0074] The optical assembly 900 may further include one or more intermediate structures that may be bonded to the optical component 925 using a pulsed laser, as described herein. For example, the optical component 925 may be bonded to multiple (e.g., three) intermediate structural components, such as a first intermediate structural component 945-a, a second intermediate structural component 945-b, and a third intermediate structural component 945-c. The quantity, arrangement, configuration, shape, and location of each of the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may vary, and the examples described herein should not be considered limiting of the claims or the scope of the present disclosure.

[0075] In some embodiments, intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may include a metal material or a glass material. In some examples, the material of intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may include one or more flexible materials (such as some types of steel, among other examples) that support compression and / or bending of intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c without damage to intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c. Intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may enable improved contact between optical component 925 and the housing component.

[0076] In some aspects, as illustrated, intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, and 945-c can be bonded to the outer diameter of optical component 925. Intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, and 945-c can be bonded using a pulsed laser (e.g., using light source 105 described with reference to FIG. 1 ). As an illustrated example, a pulsed laser beam 915 can be focused through one or more surfaces of optical component 925 (e.g., through top surface 940-a), and the laser beam 915 can be irradiated onto a first surface 940-b of optical component 925, a surface of a second intermediate structural component 945-b facing the first surface 940-b, or both. In some embodiments, the pulsed laser beam 915 can be focused through intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, 945-c (if the structural component is transparent to the laser beam) rather than through a surface of optical component 925 to irradiate the surface(s). The focused laser beam 915 may at least partially melt the first surface 940-b, or the surface of the second intermediate structural component 945-b, or both, to create a bonding zone 950 where the second intermediate structural component 945-b and the optical component 925 are bonded together.

[0077] Each of the intermediate structural components can function as a common intermediate connector to provide various connection configurations to components configured to support the optical component 925. For example, the housing can include a corresponding surface for connection when the optical component 925 is attached to the optical assembly, for example. Here, the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, and 945-c can be attached to the housing using one or more additional laser-bonded joints, one or more mechanical connections (e.g., fasteners, bolts, screws, etc.), adhesives, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the use of adhesives to bond the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, 945-c to the housing can be advantageous because the connection locations (e.g., where the intermediate structural components are bonded to the housing) can be sufficiently far from the functional light of the optical system, and the adhesive can, in some cases, be shielded or purified with relatively improved protection (e.g., compared to when the adhesive is adjacent to the optical component 925). Additionally or alternatively, the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, 945-c may include an absorbent layer or coating (eg, a metal coating or a metal oxide coating) to improve bond strength.

[0078] In some other examples, the optical component 925 and intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, 945-c may be integrated into or include a multi-component assembly via laser bonding. Such an assembly may support features such as stress isolation, providing adjustability (e.g., small or limited adjustability) for some specific degrees of freedom, and providing thermal insulation or compensation for mechanical growth / contraction resulting from the environment or operation, or any combination thereof, of the optical system including the optical component 925. In particular, one or more of the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may be used as a material bridge or buffer between the optical component 925 and a housing component, which may reduce or prevent one or more stresses (e.g., thermal stress, mechanical stress) on the optical component 925. In one example, optical component 925 may be configured for use in a relatively high-stress environment (e.g., based on the application of the optical assembly in which optical component 925 is included), and intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c, when attached to the housing component (e.g., via laser bonding or other techniques), may attenuate any stress that may otherwise be transferred from the housing component to optical component 925. In some examples, the material of optical component 925 may have a different CTE than the material of the housing component configured to hold optical component 925. Here, intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may reduce or minimize stress on optical component 925 that may result from differences in their respective CTEs (e.g., when an optical assembly including housing and optical component 925 is exposed to fluctuating thermal conditions). In such examples, the optical component 925 may be coupled to a housing component via one or more of the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c (e.g., the optical component 925 may not be in direct contact with the housing component). In such cases, the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, 945-c are laser bonded to one or more subassemblies before being laser bonded to the optical component 925 or the housing (e.g., for attachment to the housing).Such techniques can be implemented using multiple materials that can be laser bonded or multiple material choices that favor design constraints related to stress, thermal performance, range of motion, vibration, etc.

[0079] Additionally or alternatively, the intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may provide enhancements to the manufacture of the optical assembly, such as when the optical assembly has limited space for bonding the optical component 925 to a housing component within the optical assembly. More specifically, the configuration or geometry of the optical assembly may have limited features (e.g., a ledge, a seat, etc.) that prevent the optical component 925 from being directly attached to a housing component (e.g., due to space requirements or other constraints). The intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may allow additional flexibility for including the optical component 925 in the optical assembly. In such cases, the intermediate structural component 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may provide one or more structures through which the optical component 925 is attached to one or more housing components. The use of intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may, for example, provide additional opportunity to align the optical component 925 with the housing component before permanently bonding the optical component 925 to the housing component (e.g., using laser bonding). The intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may first be bonded to the optical component 925 before the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c are bonded to the housing component. In other examples, one or more of the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c may be bonded to the housing component before bonding the optical component 925 to the intermediate structural components 945-a, 945-b, and / or 945-c. In either case, the use of structural components 945-a, 945-b, or 945-c, for example, between the optical component 925 and the housing component, may allow for additional flexibility when designing and / or manufacturing the optical assembly.

[0080] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 for supporting a laser-bonded optical assembly according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1000 may be implemented by a device or component of a device as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1000 may be performed by a system configured to bond materials using a pulsed laser irradiated at an interface between the materials, as described with reference to FIGS. 1-9 . In some examples, the system may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the device to perform the described functionality. Additionally or alternatively, the device may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functionality.

[0081] At 1005, the method includes aligning a first optically transparent substrate for attachment to the housing component, where the first optically transparent substrate can include a first material that is different from a second material of the housing component. The operation of 1005 can be performed according to examples disclosed herein.

[0082] At 1010, the method can include bonding a first optically transparent substrate to a housing component by irradiating a first surface of the first optically transparent substrate, a second surface of the housing component, or both, with one or more passes of a pulsed laser beam, wherein the first optically transparent substrate is bonded to the housing component based at least in part on transmission of the pulsed laser beam through the first optically transparent substrate. The operation of 1010 can be performed according to examples disclosed herein.

[0083] In some examples, an apparatus described herein may perform a method or methods, such as method 1000. The apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions executable by a processor) for: aligning a first optically transparent substrate for attachment to a housing component, wherein the first optically transparent substrate comprises a first material that is different from a second material of the housing component; and bonding the first optically transparent substrate to the housing component by irradiating a first surface of the first optically transparent substrate, a second surface of the housing component, or both, using one or more passes of a pulsed laser beam, wherein the first optically transparent substrate is bonded to the housing component based at least in part on transmission of the pulsed laser beam through the first optically transparent substrate.

[0084] In some examples of the methods 1000 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for bonding a second optically transparent substrate to a first optically transparent substrate by irradiating a third surface of the first optically transparent substrate, a fourth surface of the second optically transparent substrate, or both, with a pulsed laser beam, wherein the pulsed laser beam is transmitted through the first optically transparent substrate or the second optically transparent substrate. In some examples of the methods 1000 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for bonding an assembly including both the first optically transparent substrate and the second optically transparent substrate to a housing component.

[0085] In some examples of the methods 1000 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for bonding a first light-transmitting substrate to one or more structural components by irradiating one or more surfaces of the first light-transmitting substrate, a surface of each of the one or more structural components, or both. In some examples of the methods 1000 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for bonding an assembly comprising both the first light-transmitting substrate and the one or more structural components to a housing component.

[0086] In some examples of the methods 1000 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for selecting a bonding pattern for one or more passes of the pulsed laser beam, and wherein the first optically transparent substrate is bonded to the housing component at one or more bonding zones based on the bonding pattern. In some examples of the methods 1000 and apparatus described herein, the bonding pattern includes a raster pattern, a pattern of respective locations on the first surface, a pattern of respective locations on the second surface, or any combination thereof.

[0087] In some examples of the methods 1000 and apparatus described herein, the first light-transmitting substrate is bonded to the housing component based at least in part on a distance between the first surface and the second surface satisfying a threshold distance, or an amount of one or more passes satisfying a threshold amount of passes, or both. In some examples of the methods 1000 and apparatus described herein, the threshold distance is between about 0.0 μm and about 7.0 μm (or between about 0.5 μm and about 6.5 μm, or between about 1.0 μm and about 6.0 μm, or between about 1.5 μm and about 5.5 μm, or between about 2.0 μm and about 5.0 μm, or between about 2.5 μm and about 4.5 μm, or between about 3.0 μm and about 4.0 μm, or between about 3.5 μm and about 5.0 μm, or between about 0.0 μm and about 6.5 μm, or between about 0.0 μm and about 6.0 μm, or between about 0.0 μm and about 5.5 μm, or between about 0.0 μm and about 5.5 μm. 0 μm to about 5.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 4.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 4.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 3.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 2.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 1.0 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.75 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.5 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.25 μm, or about 0.0 μm to about 0.1 μm).

[0088] In some examples of the methods 1000 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for applying one or more absorbing layers to a first surface of the first light-transmitting substrate, a second surface of the housing component, or both, wherein the one or more absorbing layers comprise a metallic material, and wherein bonding the first light-transmitting substrate to the housing component is based at least in part on irradiating the one or more absorbing layers.

[0089] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 for supporting a laser-bonded optical assembly according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1100 may be implemented by a device or component of a device, as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1100 may be performed by a system configured to bond materials using a pulsed laser irradiated at an interface between the materials, as described with reference to FIGS. 1-9 . In some examples, the system may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the device to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the device may perform aspects of the described functions using dedicated hardware. Method 1100 may be used to bond an optical component (e.g., an optically transparent substrate) to another optical component or to a housing component.

[0090] At 1105, the method may include establishing an alignment configuration for the first material and the second material, the alignment configuration defining an interface between a surface of the first material and a surface of the second material based at least in part on the geometry of the first material and the geometry of the second material. The operation of 1105 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein.

[0091] At 1110, the method can include irradiating the interface with a pulsed laser beam transmitted through the first material or the second material, irradiating the interface at one or more bonding zones to bond the first and second materials by at least partially melting a surface of the first material, a surface of the second material, or both. The operation of 1110 can be performed according to examples disclosed herein.

[0092] In some examples, an apparatus described herein may perform a method or methods, such as method 1100. The apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions executable by a processor stored thereon) for: aligning a first material with a second material, the alignment configuration defining an interface between a surface of the first material and a surface of the second material based at least in part on the geometry of the first material and the geometry of the second material; and irradiating the interface at one or more bonding zones using a pulsed laser beam transmitted through the first material or the second material to at least partially melt the surface of the first material, the surface of the second material, thereby bonding the first material and the second material.

[0093] In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, the alignment configuration includes alignment of an optical doublet formed by a first material and a second material, where the first material includes a first optically transmissive substrate and the second material includes a second optically transmissive substrate. In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for irradiating one or more bonding zones near an edge of the first material to bond the first material to the second material.

[0094] In some example methods 1100 and devices described herein, the device may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for irradiating one or more bond zones along an azimuthal angle of the first material, where the one or more bond zones are irradiated sequentially near an edge of the first material, or where a series of respective bond zones are irradiated near an edge of the first material.

[0095] In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, a first material is initially bonded to a second material via a contact bond, the first material including a first optically transparent substrate, and the second material including a second optically transparent substrate. In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for irradiating one or more bond zones after the first and second materials are bonded via a contact bond.

[0096] In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, a conical hole formed by a second material is configured to support a portion of a surface of a first material in contact with the conical hole, the first material comprising an optically transparent substrate, and the second material comprising a metallic material. In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for irradiating a portion of a surface of the first material to bond the first material and the second material at one or more bonding zones along an azimuthal angle of the first material, the portion of the first material being near an edge of the first material.

[0097] In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, a circular hole is formed in the second material, and a top surface of the second material perpendicular to the axis of the circular hole is configured to support an edge of the first material, wherein the first material comprises an optically transparent substrate and the second material comprises a metallic material. In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, the apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for irradiating a surface of the first material in contact with the top surface of the second material to bond the first and second materials at one or more bonding zones along an azimuthal angle of the first material.

[0098] In some example methods 1100 and devices described herein, the first material comprises an optically transparent substrate and the second material comprises a shielding component.

[0099] In some example methods 1100 and devices described herein, the device may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for irradiating the bonding zone at one or more locations away from the opening in the first material, the opening in the second material, or both, and focusing a pulsed laser beam onto the interface through one or more surfaces of the first material, through one or more surfaces of the second material, or any combination thereof.

[0100] In some examples of the methods 1100 and devices described herein, irradiating the interface results in a hermetic seal at the interface. In some examples of the methods 1100 and devices described herein, the first material and the second material are joined without the use of one or more adhesive materials.

[0101] An optical component is described that may include a first material and a second material bonded together at one or more bonding zones where at least partial melting of at least the first material or the second material is generated by radiation from a pulsed laser source, and the bonding is at least in part based on the at least partial melting, wherein at least one of the first material or the second material comprises an optically transparent substrate, and the first material and the second material are other than one or more organic adhesive materials.

[0102] In some examples of optical components, the first material is bonded to an intermediate structural component based at least in part on at least partial melting by radiation of a pulsed laser light source in a bonding zone between the first material and the intermediate structural component, and the intermediate structural component is bonded to a housing component.

[0103] In some examples of optical components, the optical component is configured to operate with a light source that outputs light having a wavelength less than about 280 nanometers and having a pulse energy that meets a threshold energy level.

[0104] In some examples of the optical component, the optical component is configured to operate in a vacuum, and the first material and the second material have a hermetic seal based at least in part on being bonded together by a pulsed laser light source.

[0105] It should be noted that these methods describe example implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified to enable other implementations. In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. For example, aspects of each method may include steps or aspects of other methods, or other steps or techniques described herein. Thus, aspects of the present disclosure may provide a bridge between consumer preferences and maintenance.

[0106] The description set forth herein with reference to the accompanying drawings describes exemplary configurations and does not represent every embodiment that may be implemented or fall within the scope of the claims. As used herein, the term "exemplary" means "serving as an embodiment, instance, or illustration," and not "preferred" or "advantageous over other embodiments." The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described embodiments.

[0107] As used herein, the term "about" means that the modified property (e.g., a verb or adjective substantially modified by the term) or related aspect (e.g., a related action or function) need not be absolute, but is close enough to achieve the advantage of the property or related aspect (e.g., a related action or function).

[0108] In the accompanying drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Furthermore, various parts of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a dash and a second label that distinguishes between the similar parts. When only a first reference label is used in this specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label, regardless of the second reference label.

[0109] The various example blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration). The functionality of each unit may also be implemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embodied in a memory formatted to be executed by one or more general or application-specific processors.

[0110] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. Features implementing a function may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that portions of the function are implemented in different physical locations. Also, as used herein, including the claims, "or" used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items preceded by phrases such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, such as, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" is intended to be interpreted the same as the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0111] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Non-transitory storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection may properly be referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of media. As used herein, disk and disc include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0112] The description herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosed subject matter will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. 1. A method comprising: aligning a first light-transmitting substrate for attachment to a housing component, the first light-transmitting substrate comprising a first material that is different from a second material of the housing component; and bonding the first light-transmitting substrate to the housing component by irradiating a first surface of the first light-transmitting substrate, a second surface of the housing component, or both, using one or more passes of a pulsed laser beam through the first light-transmitting substrate.

2. further comprising bonding a second light-transmitting substrate to the first light-transmitting substrate by irradiating a third surface of the first light-transmitting substrate, a fourth surface of the second light-transmitting substrate, or both, with the pulsed laser beam transmitted through the first light-transmitting substrate or the second light-transmitting substrate; 10. The method of claim 1, wherein bonding the first light-transmitting substrate to the housing component comprises bonding an assembly comprising both the first light-transmitting substrate and the second light-transmitting substrate to the housing component.

3. bonding the first light-transmitting substrate to the housing component; bonding the first light-transmitting substrate to the one or more structural components by irradiating one or more surfaces of the first light-transmitting substrate, a surface of each of the one or more structural components, or both; and bonding an assembly comprising both the first light-transmitting substrate and the one or more structural components to the housing component.

4. bonding the first light-transmitting substrate to the housing component; 4. The method of claim 1, comprising selecting a bonding pattern for the one or more passes of the pulsed laser beam, wherein the first light-transmitting substrate is bonded to the housing component at one or more bonding zones based at least in part on the bonding pattern, wherein the bonding pattern comprises a raster pattern, a pattern at each location on the first surface, a pattern at each location on the second surface, or any combination thereof.

5. 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying one or more absorbing layers to the first surface of the first light-transmitting substrate, the second surface of the housing component, or both, wherein the one or more absorbing layers comprise a metallic material, and wherein bonding the first light-transmitting substrate to the housing component is based at least in part on irradiating the one or more absorbing layers.

6. 6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first light-transmitting substrate is bonded to the housing component based at least in part on a distance between the first surface and the second surface being a distance of from about 0.0 micrometers to about 7.0 micrometers.

7. 1. A method comprising: establishing an alignment configuration between a first material and a second material, the alignment configuration defining an interface between a surface of the first material and a surface of the second material based at least in part on a geometry of the first material and a geometry of the second material; and irradiating the interface with a pulsed laser beam transmitted through the first material or the second material, wherein the interface is irradiated at one or more bond zones to join the first and second materials by at least partially melting the surface of the first material, the surface of the second material, or both.

8. the alignment configuration includes alignment of an optical doublet formed by the first material and the second material, the first material including a first optically transmissive substrate, the second material including a second optically transmissive substrate, and irradiating the interface; The method of claim 7 , comprising irradiating the one or more bonding zones proximate an edge of the first material to bond the first material to the second material.

9. irradiating the interface, 9. The method of claim 8, comprising irradiating the one or more bond zones along an azimuthal angle of the first material, wherein the one or more bond zones are irradiated consecutively near the edge of the first material or a series of respective bond zones near the edge of the first material.

10. Initially, the first material is bonded to the second material via a contact bond, the first material including a first light-transmitting substrate, and the second material including a second light-transmitting substrate, and irradiating the interface; 10. The method of any one of claims 7 to 9, comprising irradiating the one or more bond zones after the first material and the second material have been joined via the contact bond.

11. an edge of the conical hole formed by the second material is configured to support a portion of the first material on the surface in contact with the conical hole, the first material includes a light-transmitting substrate, and the second material includes a metallic material; and irradiating the interface; 11. The method of any one of claims 7 to 10, comprising irradiating the portion of the surface of the first material to bond the first material and the second material in the one or more bonding zones along an azimuthal angle of the first material, wherein the portion of the first material is near an edge of the first material.

12. a circular hole is formed in the second material, and an upper surface of the second material perpendicular to an axis of the circular hole is configured to support an edge of the first material; the first material includes a light-transmitting substrate; the second material includes a metal material; and irradiating the interface; 12. The method of any one of claims 7 to 11, comprising irradiating the surface of the first material in contact with the top surface of the second material so as to bond the first material and the second material in the one or more bonding zones along an azimuthal angle of the first material.

13. The method of any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the first material comprises a light-transmitting substrate and the second material comprises a shielding component.

14. irradiating the interface, 14. The method of any one of claims 7 to 13, comprising irradiating the one or more bonding zones away from an opening in the first material, an opening in the second material, or both, and focusing the pulsed laser beam onto the interface through one or more surfaces of the first material, through one or more surfaces of the second material, or any combination thereof.

15. The method of any one of claims 7 to 14, wherein irradiating the interface results in a hermetic seal at the interface.

16. The method of any one of claims 7 to 15, wherein the first material and the second material are joined without the use of one or more adhesive materials.

17. An optical component, 1. An optical component comprising: a first material and a second material bonded together at one or more bonding zones where at least partial melting of at least the first material or the second material is generated by radiation from a pulsed laser source, the first material and the second material being bonded at least in part based on the at least partial melting; wherein at least one of the first material or the second material comprises an optically transparent substrate; and the first material and the second material are other than one or more organic adhesive materials.

18. 18. The optical component of claim 17, wherein the first material is bonded to an intermediate structural component based at least in part on the at least partial melting by the radiation of the pulsed laser light source in a bonding zone between the first material and the intermediate structural component, and the intermediate structural component is bonded to a housing component.

19. 19. The optical component of claim 17 or 18, wherein the optical component is configured to operate with a light source that outputs light having a wavelength of less than about 280 nanometers.

20. 20. The optical component of any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the optical component is configured to operate in a vacuum and has a hermetic seal based at least in part on the first material and the second material being bonded together by the pulsed laser light source.

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