Optical power meter for safe operation of optical wireless power systems

Abstract

A system for measuring the power of a laser beam includes a substantially opaque housing from which the laser beam is directed through an exit aperture, the housing including a beam splitter configured to transmit a majority of the laser beam through the exit aperture and reflect a minor portion of the laser beam, a diffuser element positioned to impinge on the reflected minor portion of the laser beam, at least one detector element in optical communication with the diffuser element, the detector element providing a signal in response to impingement of the diffused light of the minor portion of the laser beam, and an absorber element positioned such that a portion of light entering the housing through the exit aperture and reflected by the beam splitter impinges on the absorber element and is substantially absorbed.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of safety systems for remote charging of mobile devices, in particular used to prevent overexposure to lasers, by providing an accurate power meter for laser-based charging systems. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, many battery-powered mobile systems have been developed, whose batteries typically have a capacity of about 1-60 Wh, and such batteries can operate for a few hours to a few weeks before needing to be recharged. The charging time of such mobile systems is typically less than 12 hours, and therefore the charger needs to provide about 1-5 W of power to charge the battery within that time frame. For such mobile systems, remote laser charging systems have been developed, which convert optical power to electrical power and eliminate the need to connect the mobile device to a power source by wires during charging. Considering the conversion efficiency between optical power and electrical power, the optical power of the carrier beam of the optical charging system is typically a few watts.

[0003] Safety is essential for laser-based remote charging systems. The Accessible Emission Limits (AEL) for Class I lasers are defined in the United States by the Code of Federal Regulations 21 CFR~1040 and other documents. Class 1 lasers are safe under normal conditions of use. This means that the Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) cannot be exceeded when viewing the laser with the naked eye or common magnifying optical devices (e.g. telescope or microscope). If there is human exposure for longer than the permissible time or to powers higher than the permissible power limits, the system is not permitted to be classified as a Class I laser and such lasers are unsuitable for general public use.

[0004] According to the above mentioned regulations, the permissible exposure time for beams with a power of several watts is short (on the order of microseconds for a 1 W 7 mm Gaussian beam at 1060 nm), so an efficient active safety system is required to facilitate automatic beam stopping before the exposure time to the laser exceeds the permissible time. Such a safety system requires accurate measurement of the optical power emitted by the transmitter to ensure safe operation.

[0005] Most current laser power delivery systems either do not include a power meter or include power meters that are inadequate to provide accurate results over long periods of operation of the device. Such prior art systems may not account for naturally occurring changes in beam shape, wavelength, or optical properties of the system itself over time. As such, they are not reliable enough to ensure safe operation over long periods of time.

[0006] For example, the system described in US 2007 / 0019693, "Wireless power beaming to common electronic devices" by DS Graham, uses a photodiode (28) to measure back reflection from a lens. This method is power efficient, since it uses only light that would otherwise be wasted because it did not reach the receiver and was not converted to power there. However, photodiodes are sensitive to lens misalignment, dust, and wavelength changes (lenses typically have dielectric coatings, and such coatings are known to be sensitive to wavelength changes), and do not provide reliable measurements over time without recalibration. They are also very sensitive to illumination of the photodiode from external light sources.

[0007] US2014 / 0126603 by Della-Pergola, which has a common inventor and is co-owned with the present applicant, uses a leaky mirror to direct the beam onto a single photodiode. This design is susceptible to dust, misalignment, and changes in the beam shape, especially since lenses are used as part of these configurations. US9,312,701 for "System for Optical Wireless Power Supply" has a common inventor with the present application and proposes detecting objects in the beam based on detecting power loss in the beam. US2014 / 0092929, which also has a common inventor and is co-owned with the present applicant, proposes monitoring the power and shape of the beam to ensure safety.

[0008] Many safety systems rely on the measurement of the laser power emitted by a transmitter. Current technology proposes the use of a power meter to measure the laser power, and in some cases specifies the use of reflections from a "leaky" mirror or lens surface to couple a portion of the light into a photodiode, but fails to provide a system that can maintain accurate calibration of the power meter over long periods of time, thereby requiring frequent recalibration to enable safe operation.

[0009] Therefore, what is needed is a long-term, accurate and reliable power meter to ensure the safety of a remote optical charging system that overcomes at least some of the shortcomings of prior art systems and methods.

[0010] The disclosures of each of the publications mentioned in this section, and elsewhere in the specification, are hereby incorporated by reference in their respective entireties. Summary of the Invention

[0011] The present disclosure discloses a safety system for laser-based wireless power transfer systems that ensures safe operation over time with minimal power loss by using a power measurement module that ensures reliable and accurate optical power measurements over time without the need for recalibration and / or cleaning.

[0012] The power measurement system described in this disclosure provides longer term reliability, safety, and maintenance free operation than conventional approaches that favor high efficiency and low cost. The present system differs from conventional systems in that, rather than placing the detector at an orientation and location where it can be easily impinged by both reflected laser light and stray light from the environment, the detector is placed near the exit aperture of the laser, but facing the laser such that external light entering the housing is absorbed by the housing walls and does not impinge on the detector. Furthermore, the power meter of the present disclosure accounts for a number of factors that provide stability to the power measurement, with low power loss to the main beam and no loss of range. These factors include resilience with respect to changes in beam mode, wavelength, temperature, degradation of optical components, and changes in transmission and reflectivity, dust accumulation on optical and electronic surfaces, bias of measurements due to internal reflections ("ghosts") from the main beam, and bias of measurements due to external illumination.

[0013] Thus, according to an exemplary implementation of the apparatus described in the present disclosure, a system for measuring the power of a laser beam is provided, the system comprising a substantially opaque housing from which a laser beam is directed through an exit aperture, the housing comprising: (i) a beam splitter configured to transmit a majority of the laser beam through the exit aperture and reflect a minor portion of the laser beam; (ii) a diffuser element positioned such that the reflected minor portion of the laser beam impinges upon it; (iii) at least one detector element in optical communication with the diffuser element, the detector element providing a signal in response to the diffused light of the minor portion of the laser beam impinging upon it; and (iv) an absorber element positioned such that a portion of the light that passes through the exit aperture into the housing and is reflected by the beam splitter impinges upon the absorber element and is substantially absorbed.

[0014] In such a system, the laser may be located within the housing or may be located outside the housing and direct its beam into the housing.

[0015] Furthermore, the efficiency of optical coupling of the detector to the laser may be substantially greater than the efficiency of optical coupling of the detector to any other location outside the housing.

[0016] Furthermore, the wavefront shape of the majority of the beam transmitted by the beamsplitter is substantially unaffected by passing through the beamsplitter.

[0017] In any of the above-described systems, the ratio of the power transmitted by the laser beam to the power received by the detector elements may be substantially constant when the wavelength of the beam varies from its average value up to 3 nm. Furthermore, the ratio of the power transmitted by the laser beam to the power received by the detector elements may be substantially constant when the polarization of the beam varies from its average value. Furthermore, the ratio of the power transmitted by the laser beam to the power received by the detector elements may be substantially constant when the beam profile of the beam varies from its average value.

[0018] In any of these systems, the beam splitter may include a transparent front surface and an anti-reflective back surface. Additionally, the diffuser element may be configured to equalize the signal from the beam across the beam profile. The diffuser element may have a concave shape adapted to uniformly illuminate the detector elements.

[0019] With respect to the detector elements, a pair of adjacent detectors may be provided, which may be positioned such that the detected beam impinges on both of them. If the laser beam is generated by a laser diode, a pair of detectors may be positioned so that the fast axis of the laser beam is parallel to a line joining the centers of the detectors.

[0020] Finally, in all of these systems, the majority of the laser beam transmitted from the exit aperture may be greater than 80% of the source laser beam. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] The present claimed invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the following drawings. [Figure 1] For a 1050 nm wavelength, 7 mm diameter beam, it is shown how the maximum allowable exposure time decreases as a function of power. [Diagram 2] 2A and 2B illustrate some of the differences between prior art beam splitters and detectors, which are disclosed herein. [Diagram 3] 1 illustrates an exemplary system for accurately measuring the power of an optical charging system over long periods of time without recalibration. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 shows a typical beam profile of a diode laser with variable power across the major and minor axes with identified hot spots. [Diagram 5] 1 illustrates an exemplary laser showing power variations across the major and minor axes. [Figure 6] 6A and 6B show additional structural components for improving the accuracy of measurements made by the power meter. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates components of a power meter in an exemplary implementation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Referring first to FIG. 1, a graph shows the maximum allowable exposure time for a 1050 nm wavelength, 7 mm diameter beam, and the degradation of the allowable exposure time as a function of beam power.

[0023] 2A, a prior art beam delivery system is shown illustrating how a beam splitter is used to reflect a small portion of the emitted laser beam back against its direction of propagation and towards a detector to provide a signal that is presumed to be proportional to the output power. Typically, about 98% of the beam is transmitted and 2% of the laser light is reflected back to impinge on the detector. However, since the detector faces the aperture through which most of the laser light is transmitted, incident light entering the aperture from the environment may also impinge on the detector and thus skew the measurements obtained.

[0024] Many prior art systems suffer from design problems that make them susceptible to interference from external lighting, and place the power measurement sensor in what is known as the opposing or rearward facing direction rather than the forward facing direction.

[0025] The so-called "laser back direction" is any direction in which the transmission efficiency from the laser to the power meter or photodiode is less than the transmission efficiency from at least one point outside the transmitter for the wavelengths to which the power meter is sensitive.

[0026] The so-called "laser forward direction" is defined as the direction in which the transmission efficiency from laser 21B to the power meter or photodiode is greater than the transmission efficiency from any point outside the transmitter, for wavelengths to which the power meter is sensitive.

[0027] Thus, in the backward direction, the coupling of light incident from outside the system to detector 25B is greater than the coupling of the light reflected from laser 21A to the detector. For example, leaky back mirrors are often used for power measurements. The back mirror of a laser is designed to be highly reflective for a particular laser wavelength, and is typically transparent to other wavelengths that would erroneously measure the power measurement when incident from the outside. If a power meter is placed behind the back mirror of the laser, about 0.1% of the laser light is coupled into the detector, while as much as 5% of the external light may be coupled into the laser. To measure the power of the laser, a small portion of the beam is split off and directed to a power meter or detector. Both the configuration of the detector relative to the laser and the angle of the splitter affect the accuracy of the detector. US 2007 / 0019693 to Graham uses the back surface of a lens as a splitter to measure the back reflection from the lens surface. In US 2014 / 0126603, Della Pergola uses the back mirror of a laser (also in the "reverse" direction) as a coupler for power measurements. In this case the laser back mirror is the beam splitter.

[0028] In Fig. 2A, a power meter constructed according to the previously used technique is shown with a detector 25A facing backward. The beam splitter 23A is arranged so that the laser beam 22A is split by the splitter, a small percentage of the beam 24A is reflected backward to reach the detector 25A, and the majority of the laser beam is emitted from the exit aperture. However, in addition to this, stray light 26A coming from the outside passes through the exit aperture and reaches the detector 25A, affecting the measurement and reducing its accuracy. This is because the detector faces backward with respect to the laser, i.e. away from the laser, and faces the outside world.

[0029] FIG. 2B shows an exemplary power meter configured according to a novel solution to the problem of incident background light interference. In this configuration, detector 25B is placed near the exit aperture, but facing forward relative to the laser, i.e., facing toward the laser and away from the outside world. Stray light entering the housing therefore does not strike the detector and therefore does not affect the laser power reading. In this implementation, the beam splitter may similarly be such that 98% of the beam is transmitted and 2% is reflected toward the detector. In this configuration, detector 25B is positioned such that 2% of laser beam 24B strikes splitter 23B and is deflected to reach detector 25B, but very little power from stray light beam 26B reaches detector 25B.

[0030] Although the laser is shown in FIG. 2B as being housed in an opaque housing, it should be understood that the power meter can also be configured as a separate device for measuring an externally generated laser beam. In this case, the housing must have an opening and the laser must be positioned so that the beam enters the opening. To reduce the incidence of external light, the laser should most advantageously be positioned as close as possible to the opening or even touching the housing wall that contains the opening.

[0031] 3, there is shown a schematic of a beam splitter 26 used in a power meter module designed to split off a small portion of the laser beam traveling in a forward direction 22 from the laser 21 towards a power detector 27. The splitter 26 redirects the light coming from the rear direction 24 towards a loss element 25, typically a component that absorbs wavelengths within the range of the beam, which absorbs a large portion of the reflected beam to prevent a significant portion of the rear beam from being reflected further towards the detector. As shown in FIG. 2B, these components are enclosed in an optically opaque housing to prevent dust accumulation, particularly on the splitter 23 and loss element 25.

[0032] Laser beams, especially multimode diode laser beams, often change beam shape. Figure 4 now shows an image of a typical beam shape, which shows a laser beam profile 32 with the fast axis 33 and slow axis 34 marked. The so-called "hot spot", indicated by the diagonal line 35, often changes shape, position and intensity during normal operation of the laser, as does the shape of the entire beam 32. To avoid such dynamic variations in the shape of the beam changing the power measurement results, the entire beam must be sampled with uniform efficiency, which has typically been achieved by focusing the entire beam onto the detector. However, such an arrangement is sensitive to the alignment of the focusing element relative to the beam and detector and tends to drift over time, requiring realignment or recalibration.

[0033] Referring now to FIG. 5, another view of the axes of a diode laser beam is shown diagrammatically. A beam 42 is emitted from a diode laser 41, which can be either a single-longitudinal mode diode laser or a multi-longitudinal mode diode laser. A beam 42 from such a diode laser typically has two different orthogonal axes 43, 44 that behave differently, the so-called fast axis 43 extending at about 25°-50° from the diode emitter, and the slow axis 44 extending at 5°-20° from the diode emitter. The modes across the slow axis 44 are typically less consistent and less stable compared to the modes across the fast axis. Thus, the cross section of the beam in the direction of the fast axis 43 is usually close to a Gaussian shape 45 and does not change significantly over time.

[0034] Due to the lack of consistency in the power profile in the slow axis 44, the sampler must sample the entire slow axis 44 of the beam with uniform efficiency. Sampling the fast axis 43 is less sensitive because the power profile in that direction is more stable and sampling at any given cross section remains representative of the entire beam profile in that direction. As a result, in some cases, non-uniform sampling of a portion of the fast axis 43 in space is sufficient.

[0035] 6A and 6B, a solution for ensuring accurate measurement of the beam power is shown diagrammatically. In some cases, it is impractical or impossible to focus the entire beam onto the detector power meter. In such cases, uniform sampling of the split beam is achieved by impinging the beam onto a diffuser 56, 57 from which the diffused light impinges on the detectors 50, 59, respectively. The purpose of the diffuser is to ensure that the light collected by the diffuser is equally representative of each portion of the beam incident on the diffuser, so that the sampling ratio is the same for each portion of the beam. If the optical path length of the power meter between such diffusers 56, 57 and the power detectors 50, 59, respectively, is substantially longer than the beam diameter in the slow axis, where a factor of the beam path length of 30 times the beam diameter is considered sufficient, a simple diffuser can be used to obtain a substantially uniform sampling of the entire beam by the power meter. In systems with short optical lengths of the power meter, differences in distance between different points on the diffuser and the power meter can result in non-uniform sampling, which can lead to high sensitivity to changes in the beam shape. 6A, where beams from different sides of diffuser 56 are shown impinging on detector 50, and in the example shown it is clear that light from the left side of the beam is closer to the detector than light from the right side of the beam and produces a larger signal in the detector. While true for the slow axis of diode laser emission in systems with path lengths shorter than the criteria above, if the beam profile exhibits varying intensity at any given position across that profile, this creates undue dependency on the changes in the beam profile.

[0036] In many cases, such a long optical path of 30 times the beam diameter may be undesirable for practical reasons, so three alternative solutions, either separately or together, may be implemented. First, optical devices such as lenses, focusing mirrors or telescopes (not shown in Figures 6A and 6B) may be used to compress the optical path so that it can fit into a shorter space while keeping the difference between the closest point in the beam sampled by the diffuser and the furthest point sampled by the diffuser as short as possible. Second, a diffuser 56 with a planned variable reflectance or transmittance may be used to compensate for the different distances and angles between different positions in the beam so that the sampling is uniform. Third, as shown in Figure 6B, a shaped diffuser 57 may be used, typically concave in the direction in which the light enters along the slow axis or concave with respect to both axes, so that the optical path length between different points in the beam is more uniform. If the detectors 50, 59 are placed near the center of curvature of the diffuser, the distance from each point in the diffuser to the detector is the same. Typically, a small deviation from a perfect circular aperture allows for uniform off-axis illumination of the diffuser by the beam. These three solutions may be used together or separately.

[0037] Those skilled in the art of optical design would know how to design and construct such systems and combinations thereof. Thus, the implementation of a combination of these three features achieves resilience to changes in beam mode.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 6B, it is advantageous to use a pair of detectors 50, 59 instead of a single detector element. The detectors are positioned so that the line connecting them is optically parallel to the direction of the fast axis of the laser diode. In this way, the two detectors will generate similar signals even if they are slightly offset from the center of the divergent beam. This is more clearly shown in FIG. 7. These similar signals may be used to give a warning if the system is out of calibration, as the two signals start to differ, thereby allowing the implementation of corrective actions to prevent dangerous operation, such as reducing the power level, terminating the beam, and / or calling a technician.

[0039] Implementations of diffuser-based detection schemes typically utilize only a small portion of the total solid angle to collect light by a photodetector, as the light is scattered away from the diffuser in many directions. Extensions to any of these configurations can therefore be obtained by implementing a large number of such detectors in the diverging beam to provide multiple simultaneous power-indicative signals. As all these signals do not depend on properties of the original beam other than power, they only need to be calibrated once against each other, and this calibration is ensured to be maintained despite variations in the beam profile. In particular, in the case of a cylindrical diffuser, multiple detectors can be placed along the cylindrical axis.

[0040] Another typical aspect of the present system is the importance of sealing from dust, as shown in FIG. 6B. Dust accumulation on the sampler and other elements in the path of the beam can change the sampling ratio and lead to inaccurate measurements of the beam power. To avoid such dust problems, the system can be sealed, for example, by a dust enclosure 58 or by using a labyrinth air passage to extend and complicate the air passage between the outside and the inside, preventing dust from reaching the sampling system. The diffuser 57 and detectors 50, 59 may be further sealed in a light-tight enclosure 55 so that the effect of any random light entering the module on the accuracy of the sampling measurement is reduced.

[0041] Referring now to FIG. 7, an exemplary scheme for tracking the power of an incoming light beam 610 from a laser source 621 located outside the power meter housing 615 is shown in schematic form, in this exemplary configuration the beam enters through an entrance aperture 602, although the laser may be located within the housing as shown in the exemplary system of FIG. 2B. Similar to the implementation above, a beam splitter 607 is used to deflect a portion of the incoming beam towards detectors 601, 609. In this module 600, the beam 610 is split by the splitter 607 into a main beam 611 directed towards a receiver from an exit aperture 603, and a smaller sampled portion 612 that constitutes a known fraction of the total laser beam. The beam sample 612 enters a light-tight housing 616 where it impinges on a diffuser element 608. The diffuser element 608 may be spherical, cylindrical, or other shape that facilitates scrambling of the wavefront of the impinging beam, so that the direction of each photon is random, or nearly random, relative to the other photons. A portion of the scattered beam impinges on a pair of detectors 601, 609 such that the fast axis of the beam 617 is parallel to a line connecting the centers of the two detectors, and the slow axis is along the direction in which the detectors are adjacent to each other. In this configuration, both detectors cover the entire length of the slow axis, thereby equally covering possible noisy random variations in the beam profile along that direction, while the more stable Gaussian profile along the fast axis can be partially covered by each detector as each portion remains reasonably stable in time.

[0042] Cylindrical diffusers work best when the spatial distribution of the original beam is asymmetric in the two axes of the incident beam, for example when using multimode edge-emitting diode lasers. The curved axis of the diffuser, as shown at 57 in Figure 6, is aligned with the axis of the beam that is characterized by stronger spatial variations.

[0043] In Figures 3 and 4 this is the slow axis 34, 44 of the laser respectively. Both detectors then convert the optical signal to an electrical signal and provide a measurement of the power of the signal. This information is then used for safety decisions.

[0044] 7 shows that a portion of the main light beam 611 is reflected towards the power meter, and this light 613 enters the system from the outside through the aperture 603. The spurious light entering the aperture 603 may be ambient light from a source other than a reflected laser beam. This incident light 613 impinges on the beam splitter 607, and a portion of the impinging light is reflected as beam 614, which impinges on the beam absorber 605. The beam absorber 605 prevents the reflected beam 614 from being further reflected within the housing 615 that encloses and encloses the components of the system 600.

[0045] Using a configuration as shown in FIG. 7, the electrical signal delivered to the pair of detectors 601, 609 is largely independent of the properties of the original beam other than its power. Such other properties include, but are not limited to, polarization, wavelength and spatial distribution. Solutions proposed in the prior art to measure the power typically suggest using a low coupling coefficient in the splitter. Typical coupling coefficient values ​​below 0.5% or even below 0.2% of the power are possible using a dielectric coating to decouple the light at the splitter, with additional losses typically occurring, especially in the diffuser, but also in other parts. Dielectric splitters are usable, but have some drawbacks.

[0046] Lasers, especially diode lasers, experience longitudinal mode hops and type wavelength changes resulting in small shifts in wavelength and / or bandwidth over time. Dielectric coatings are sensitive to wavelength changes and therefore the use of dielectric coatings results in a system that may be sensitive to these wavelength changes and therefore unsafe. Wavelength resistant dielectric coatings are available but are more expensive.

[0047] On the other hand, Fresnel reflections from metal surfaces are typically much less sensitive to wavelength changes. In the systems described herein, the use of splitters based on metal surface reflection or based on Fresnel reflection instead of traditional dielectric coated splitters is more advantageous. In some implementations, the surface of the splitter opposite where the output beam is split may be coated with an anti-reflective coating. In some implementations, especially for use with high power or large beams, a polka dot metal coating may be used.

[0048] A first preferred sampler uses Fresnel reflection from the front facet of the typically transparent optical surface of the splitter 607, i.e. the facet facing the laser beam. The back facet is typically anti-reflective coated to prevent reflections from it, but embodiments that reflect from both surfaces may be advantageous in some situations, especially when the sampler is thin and its faces are slightly non-parallel. The sampler is spatially consistent over the entire area covered by the beam, thus reducing sensitivity to changes in the beam shape.

[0049] Such a structure is well suited for sampling a fixed polarization beam with a fixed wavelength.

[0050] The sampling angle is selected so that the Fresnel reflection samples a small portion of the beam 610. Typically, small angles between 0% and 75% of the Brewster angle have the advantage of being polarization independent. Large angles between 75% and 120% of the Brewster angle are more sensitive to polarization but allow higher transmission (especially of "P" polarization) and therefore higher efficiency. Angles close to 45° typically allow the most compact construction, which may be advantageous if a compact system is desired. In an advantageous embodiment, the main polarization is set as "P" polarization at the sampler axis, and therefore the sampling ratio at an incidence angle of about 45° is small (about 1-1.3%) relative to sampling at angles close to 0°, where the sampling ratio is typically 3-5%. In this way, elasticity to wavelength and polarization changes is achieved.

[0051] The detection device of the present invention therefore includes a diffuser element 608 followed by a photodetector 601, 609, which collects light from only a part of the solid angle of the diffused beam. The diffuser element can be transmissive, where the diffuse distribution is generated along the original direction of the beam, or reflective, where the distribution is generated by reflection from the diffusing facets. Figure 7 shows the latter case. A perfect diffuser generates a universal Lambertian distribution that is independent of the polarization or wavelength of the sampled beam. A fixed solid angle of this distribution is collected by the photodetector and converted into a power-indicative signal, so that this indication signal is also insensitive to the polarization and wavelength of the sampled beam. A practical diffuser is chosen such that the residual dependence on polarization and wavelength is negligible with respect to the required accuracy of the power tracking system.

[0052] In one embodiment, the photodetectors 601, 609 are placed at a sufficiently large distance from the diffuser such that the entire diffuser area shares substantially the same distance and angle with the detector. Such a placement ensures that all coordinates of the diffuser contribute equally to the power-indicating signal, which is therefore not affected by the spatial distribution of the original beam. In practice, for a given lateral extent of the sampled beam, the detection distance is selected to yield a sensitivity where residual geometric differences are negligible with respect to the required accuracy of the power tracking system.

[0053] The amount of light collected by the photodetector, and therefore the magnitude of the associated power-indicating signal, is determined by the collection solid angle, which depends on the detection distance and the detector area. In another embodiment, the detector area is determined by a pinhole aperture placed directly above the slightly larger photodetector. Such a design masks areas of the detector that are unintentionally photosensitive, thus providing a precisely sized active area. A typical diameter of such a pinhole may be, but is not limited to, 300 μm. In another implementation, the detector area is large enough so that the effects of unintentional, accidental photosensitivity do not affect the accuracy of the power tracking system. In yet another embodiment, the unintentional photosensitivity is characterized as a portion of the expected signal.

[0054] In another implementation, the sampled beam is focused onto a diffuser, thus significantly reducing its lateral spread. Such a design allows for a reduction in the detection distance, thus resulting in a more compact system, without sacrificing the immunity of the power-indicating signal to the spatial distribution of the original beam.

[0055] In yet another implementation, the diffuser has a spherical profile.

[0056] A simple implementation of such an element is a spherical diffuse reflector. If we place a photodetector at the origin of this sphere, all diffuser points will share the same distance to the detector, regardless of the detection distance, which in this case is the sphere radius. Thus, the lack of dependence on the spatial distribution of the original beam is guaranteed for any detection distance.

[0057] The detector / sensor is best placed away from the focal point of a curved diffuser (cylindrical or spherical), which is typically found 1 / 2 the radius of curvature from the surface of the diffuser. Depending on the mechanical design, the broad beam generated by the diffuser can strike a given mechanical element and be specularly or diffusely reflected towards the optical detector. This contribution increases the power-indicating signal beyond that expected by direct collection alone. In a preferred embodiment, all potential mechanical reflectors are placed at such a distance that their contribution to the power-indicating signal is negligible. In another embodiment, multiple baffles are placed to inhibit the indirect collection path.

[0058] These are shutters that do not allow their own reflection to reach the detector. In yet another embodiment, the relevant mechanical elements are coated with an absorbing material to minimize their contribution to the power-indicative signal. Such a coating may be, for example, Metal Velvet™ available from Acktar Advanced Coatings, Kiryat Gat, Israel.

[0059] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described above, but rather the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described above, as well as variations and modifications thereof which may occur to a person skilled in the art upon reading the above description and which are not in the prior art.

Claims

1. 1. A system for measuring the power of a laser beam, comprising: a substantially opaque housing through which the laser beam is directed through an exit aperture open to an external environment; The housing includes: a beam splitter configured to transmit a majority of the laser beam through the exit aperture and to reflect a minor portion of the laser beam; a diffuser element positioned to impinge on the reflected portion of the laser beam; at least one detector element in optical communication with the diffuser element, the detector element providing a signal in response to being impinged by the diffused light of the small portion of the laser beam; Absorber element and wherein the absorber element is positioned such that a portion of light passing through the exit aperture from the external environment into the housing and reflected by the beam splitter impinges on the absorber element and is substantially absorbed.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein a laser is disposed within the housing.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein a laser is disposed outside the housing and directs its beam into the housing.

4. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the optical coupling efficiency of the detector element to a laser is substantially greater than the optical coupling efficiency of the detector element to any other location outside the housing.

5. The system of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a shape of the wavefront of the majority of the laser beam transmitted by the beam splitter is substantially unaffected by passing through the beam splitter.

6. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the ratio of power transmitted by the laser beam to power received by the detector elements is substantially constant when the wavelength of the laser beam varies by up to 3 nm from its average value.

7. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the ratio of power transmitted by the laser beam to power received by the detector elements is substantially constant as the polarization of the laser beam varies from its average value.

8. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the ratio of power transmitted by the laser beam to power received by the detector element is substantially constant when the beam profile of the laser beam varies from its average value.

9. The system of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the beam splitter comprises a transparent front surface and an anti-reflective rear surface.

10. The system of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the diffuser element is configured to equalize the signal from the laser beam across an entire beam profile.

11. The system of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the diffuser element comprises a concave shape adapted to uniformly illuminate the detector element.

12. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the detector element comprises a pair of adjacent detectors, the pair of detectors being positioned such that the detected beam impinges on both.

13. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the laser beam is generated by a laser diode, and the pair of detectors are positioned such that the fast axis of the laser beam is parallel to a line connecting the centers of the pair of detectors.

14. The system of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the majority of the laser beam transmitted from the exit aperture is greater than 80% of a source laser beam.

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