Beam Splitting Device with Single-Port Acousto-Optic Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional beam splitting devices using acousto-optical components are limited in spectral width and require multiple ports for different wavelength ranges, leading to misalignment and increased costs due to separate optical components.
Innovation Solution
A beam splitting device that uses a light coupling unit to collinearly supply illumination light with different wavelength ranges into a single port, utilizing an acousto-optical component to diffract one range while transmitting the other without diffraction, ensuring stable and cost-effective illumination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple ports are used to supply different wavelength ranges, then the spectral width is extended, but the device complexity and alignment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The illumination light is divided into different wavelength ranges (first and second wavelength ranges) that are spatially separated by the light coupling unit. This segmentation allows each wavelength range to be directed along different propagation directions into the acousto-optical component, enabling the system to handle extended spectral ranges while maintaining a single port configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single propagation direction to multiple propagation directions by using the light coupling unit to spatially separate different wavelength ranges. This dimensional change in light propagation allows the system to process multiple wavelength ranges through a single port without requiring multiple separate ports, thereby reducing device complexity while extending spectral width.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple ports are used to supply different wavelength ranges, then the spectral width is extended, but the alignment precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The light coupling unit segments the illumination light into different wavelength ranges and directs them along different propagation directions. This segmentation enables precise control over the spatial separation of wavelength ranges, allowing them to be accurately directed into the acousto-optical component without requiring multiple ports, thereby maintaining high alignment precision while extending spectral width.
Solution Approach 2:
The light coupling unit acts as an intermediary device that receives collinear illumination light and separates it into different propagation directions based on wavelength. This intermediary component enables precise alignment by controlling the spatial separation of different wavelength ranges before they enter the acousto-optical component, eliminating the need for multiple ports and their associated alignment complexities.
3Device complexity
If a single port is used to supply all illumination light, then the device complexity is reduced, but the spectral width is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the light coupling unit to introduce a spatial dimension (different propagation directions) for different wavelength ranges within a single port configuration. This allows the system to process extended spectral ranges by directing different wavelength ranges along different paths into the acousto-optical component, thereby maintaining device simplicity while extending spectral width.
Solution Approach 2:
The illumination light is segmented into different wavelength ranges by the light coupling unit, which directs them along different propagation directions. This segmentation enables the single port system to handle multiple wavelength ranges effectively, as each wavelength range is spatially separated and processed appropriately by the acousto-optical component, thus extending the effective spectral width without increasing device complexity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If different wavelength ranges are supplied via separate ports, then the spectral width is extended, but the cost increases due to additional optical components
Solution Approach 1:
The light coupling unit merges the functions of multiple ports into a single port configuration by spatially separating different wavelength ranges within the same optical path. This merging eliminates the need for multiple separate ports and their associated optical components, thereby reducing implementation costs while maintaining the capability to process extended spectral ranges.
Solution Approach 2:
The single port configuration with light coupling unit performs multiple functions: it receives all illumination light, separates different wavelength ranges spatially, and directs them appropriately into the acousto-optical component. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate ports for different wavelength ranges, reducing the number of optical components required and lowering implementation costs while maintaining extended spectral width capability.
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 device achieves stable and efficient separation of illumination light with reduced misalignment and focus shifts, minimizing the need for additional optical components and reducing implementation costs.
Implementation Method 1
Light entering the crystal is diffracted due to the resulting periodic index modulation, and an interference occurs similar to Bragg diffraction. Thus, the acousto-optical component can be freely tuned to diffract one or more components of the light entering the crystal, wherein the diffracted light component emerges from the crystal in a direction which is different from the propagation direction of the undiffracted light.
Implementation Method 2
acousto-optical component which can be tuned to diffract at least one spectral component of the first illumination light. The acousto-optical component comprises a piezoelectric transducer which can be electrically controlled to create sound waves in the material which can be thought of as moving periodic planes of expansion and compression that change the index of refraction.
Data Source
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AI summary
A beam splitting device (202, 402, 502) for separating illumination light (204) and detection light (206) in an optical apparatus (200) comprises a light supply unit (208) configured to supply the illumination light (204) including first illumination light (212) having wavelengths within a first wavelength range and second illumination light (214) having wavelengths within a second wavelength range, the first and second wavelength ranges being separated from each other, an acousto-optical component (216) tunable to diffract at least one spectral component of the first illumination light (212) having a selected wavelength within the first wavelength range to generate at least one illumination light beam (234) of a predetermined diffraction order while transmitting the second illumination light (214) within the second wavelength range without diffraction, and a light coupling unit (218, 418, 518) configured to couple the first illumination light (212) and the second illumination light (214) from the light supply unit (208) into the acousto-optical component (216). The light supply unit (208) is configured to supply the first illumination light (212) and the second illumination light (214) collinearly to the light coupling unit (218, 418, 518). The light coupling unit (218, 418, 518) is configured to spatially separate the first illumination light (212) and the second illumination light (214) for directing the first illumination light (212) and the second illumination light (214) along different light propagation directions into the acousto-optical component (216).