Splicing Array Optical Fiber to Quartz End Cap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spectral beam combining devices for high-brightness optical fiber lasers are limited by mechanical clamping and water-cooling requirements, preventing compact and lightweight designs due to constraints on reducing the interval between adjacent optical fibers, which degrades the beam quality and restricts mobile platform applications.
Innovation Solution
A device and method for splicing an array fiber with a large-size quartz end cap using a light source shaping module to create uniform parallel strip-shaped light spots for heating and an image detection module for alignment, enabling a uniform temperature field and precise fiber alignment, allowing for compact and high-brightness laser sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If mechanical clamping and water-cooling are used in spectral beam combining devices, then the device structure is stable and reliable, but the device cannot be compact and lightweight due to constraints on reducing the interval between adjacent optical fibers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical clamping structure with a spliced array optical fiber structure where multiple optical fibers are spliced to a common end cap. This eliminates the need for mechanical clamping devices and water-cooling systems, enabling compact and lightweight design while maintaining structural stability through the spliced fiber configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple separate optical fiber channels into a single spliced array fiber structure with a common end cap. This integration reduces the overall device volume by eliminating separate mounting and cooling systems for each fiber, while maintaining the functional integrity of each channel through precise splicing.
2Volume of moving object
If the interval between adjacent optical fibers is reduced to achieve compact design, then the device becomes lightweight and compact, but the beam quality of the synthesized light deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality control by ensuring that each individual optical fiber maintains its original beam quality characteristics through precise splicing to the end cap. The spliced array fiber structure preserves the local optical properties of each fiber channel while enabling compact overall device design, thus maintaining high beam quality despite reduced intervals between fibers.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional splicing methods are used for array optical fibers, then the splicing process is simple, but the alignment precision and splicing quality are insufficient for high-brightness laser applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs preliminary alignment actions before the actual splicing process. The alignment module performs precise positioning of the array optical fiber relative to the end cap using detection and adjustment mechanisms. This preliminary high-precision alignment ensures that the subsequent splicing process can achieve the required manufacturing precision for high-brightness laser applications while maintaining operational simplicity.
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 solution facilitates improved beam quality, compactness, and lightweight designs for spectral beam combining systems, enabling flexible and variable array fiber configurations with enhanced integration and scalability, optimizing the performance of high-brightness laser sources.
Implementation Method 1
a light source shaping module for forming two parallel strip-shaped light spots with same light spot size, power density, and uniform power density on an end cap splicing face of a large-size quartz end cap (8) to be spliced, while for heating the end cap splicing face to form a uniform temperature field
Implementation Method 2
heating the end cap splicing face to form a uniform temperature field at a splicing area
Implementation Method 3
an image detection module for realizing alignment and interval measurement of the array fiber (14) and the large-size quartz end cap (8) and checking whether fiber end faces of the array fiber (14) are flush or not
Data Source
AI summary
A device for realizing the splicing of an array fiber and a large-size quartz end cap comprises a carbon dioxide laser, a light splitter, a light beam shaper, a high reflectivity mirror, an image detection module, an array fiber and a carrier thereof, a large-size quartz end cap and a carrier thereof, a stepping motor, a thermodetector, and a computer; a laser beam emitted by the carbon dioxide laser is divided into two light beams through a light splitter, after the two light beams respectively pass through the beam shaper and the high reflectivity mirror, two strip-shaped light spots with uniform power density are integrally formed to heat a splicing face of the large-size quartz end cap, a uniform temperature field of a target splicing area is achieved through indirect heating and heat conduction.