Optical Fiber Bundle Beam Superposition for High-Density Laser Spots
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Solution Overview
Problem
Laser processing faces challenges in achieving high power density due to beam divergence issues when using tapered optical fibers or waveguides, and the use of power combiners can lead to heat generation and failures like combustion or disconnection.
Innovation Solution
A laser irradiation apparatus that combines laser beams from multiple optical fibers without a power combiner, using a light deflection unit at the emission side bundle end to overlap and scatter the beams, ensuring a high-power density irradiation spot while minimizing the risk of heat generation and failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If a tapered optical fiber or optical waveguide is used to narrow the beam emission port, then the beam width is reduced, but the beam divergence increases causing the irradiation spot to expand and power density to decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the beam transmission system into multiple separate optical fibers instead of using a single tapered fiber. Each fiber maintains its own beam path without tapering, avoiding the beam divergence problem while achieving power combination through spatial arrangement and overlap of multiple beams at the target.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines multiple laser beams from separate optical fibers by overlapping them in space at the irradiation target. This merging approach achieves high power density without requiring beam narrowing through tapering, thus avoiding the beam divergence issue.
2Device complexity
If a power combiner is used to couple laser lights into a single optical fiber, then the number of fusion-spliced portions increases, but cladding light generation increases causing heat generation and potential failures
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the problematic power combiner component from the system and replaces it with a direct multi-fiber configuration. By eliminating the combiner and its associated fusion splices, the source of cladding light generation and heat accumulation is removed entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of trying to manage and dissipate the harmful cladding light heat generation, the invention avoids creating the problem in the first place by using a configuration that doesn't require aggressive beam coupling, thus converting the potential harm into a design advantage.
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 apparatus effectively forms a high-power density irradiation spot with reduced risk of combustion or disconnection, maintaining beam focus and stability during laser processing.
Implementation Method 1
an optical fiber bundle (1) formed of a bundle of a plurality of optical fibers (2)
Implementation Method 2
a light deflection unit (3) is provided at the emission side bundle end
Data Source
Figure 1~3B
Figure 4A~5
Figure 6
AI summary
Provided is a condensing apparatus that can form an irradiation spot of the laser beam having a large power density by combining a plurality of laser lights without using a power combiner. An optical fiber bundle is formed of a bundle of a plurality of optical fibers, one end thereof forms an incident side bundle end at which light incident ends of individual optical fibers are arranged, and the other end forms an emission side bundle end at which light emission ends of individual optical fibers are arranged. The optical fiber bundle includes, at the emission side bundle end, an optical deflection unit that deflects at least two light beams toward different directions, respectively, such that the at least two light beams emitted from respective light emission ends of at least two optical fibers out of the plurality of optical fibers overlap each other on at least one cross section that is at rear on an optical path of the emission side bundle end and are then scattered.