Achromatic Flat Top Beam Shaping with Chromatic Focal Shift
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laser beam shaping technologies, such as those using Powell lenses, struggle to produce a uniform intensity profile across multiple wavelength components, requiring complex optical systems and precise alignment, and are sensitive to beam width variations, leading to deviations in uniformity.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a collimation optic, a shaping lens with a primary surface adapted to shape the beam into a nearly uniform profile, and a focusing optic with chromatic focal shifts to compensate for dispersion of divergence, ensuring a substantially uniform intensity profile across all wavelength components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a Powell lens is used to generate a polychromatic illumination with a uniform profile, then uniformity along the laser line is improved, but the system becomes sensitive to beam width variations and requires complex optical systems with multiple elements in precise alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the optical system into three distinct functional components: a collimation optic to collimate the divergent polychromatic beam, a Powell lens to shape the collimated beam into a uniform profile, and a focusing optic to focus the shaped beam. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies alignment requirements compared to using a single complex lens system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a collimation optic as an intermediary element between the light source and the Powell lens. This intermediary component converts the divergent beam from the polychromatic source into a collimated beam, which is the ideal input for the Powell lens to achieve uniform profile shaping. This intermediary step decouples the requirements of the light source from the requirements of the beam shaping element.
2Adaptability or versatility
If refractive beam shaping techniques are used to combine multiple laser beams at various wavelengths, then polychromatic illumination with uniform profile is achieved, but the system requires many optical elements in precise alignment and uses much space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a Powell lens that is specifically designed to handle polychromatic light across a broad spectrum. This single universal optical element can shape beams of various wavelengths simultaneously without requiring separate optical paths or multiple wavelength-specific components, thereby reducing the number of elements and simplifying alignment while maintaining versatility across the polychromatic range.
3Illumination intensity
If a Powell lens is used for beam shaping, then uniform intensity profile is achieved, but the lens is quite sensitive to the width of the laser beam at its input
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by using a collimation optic to pre-process the divergent beam from the light source before it enters the Powell lens. By collimating the beam in advance, the system ensures that the Powell lens receives a beam with consistent parallel rays regardless of variations in the source characteristics. This preliminary collimation step stabilizes the input conditions for the Powell lens, reducing its sensitivity to beam width variations and improving the robustness of the uniform profile generation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively reduces deviations from uniformity, achieving a uniform intensity profile along a single axis for polychromatic light beams across various wavelengths, enhancing applications like biomedical imaging and precision inspection.
Implementation Method 1
A collimation optic collimates the polychromatic divergent light
Implementation Method 2
A shaping lens shapes the collimated beam into a shaped beam with a nearly uniform profile along the first axis
Implementation Method 3
A focusing optic focuses the shaped beam
Implementation Method 4
A combination of the collimation and focusing optics shows a chromatic focal shift that compensates for the dispersion of divergence
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an optical system and method for shaping a polychromatic light into a substantially uniform profile beam along a first axis. A polychromatic divergent light with having multiple wavelength components is provided with a dispersion of divergence. A collimation optic collimates the polychromatic divergent light. A shaping lens shapes the collimated beam into a shaped beam with a nearly uniform profile along the first axis, the dispersion of divergence causing a deviation from uniformity of the nearly uniform profile. A focusing optic focuses the shaped beam. A combination of the collimation and focusing optics shows a chromatic focal shift that compensates for said dispersion of divergence, so as to reduce the deviation from uniformity to obtain a profile with a substantially uniform intensity along the first axis, for all of said multiple wavelength components.