Flat-Top Laser Pulse Sequencing for Beam Uniformity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for improving the uniformity of flat-top laser beams, such as using a larger number of laser beams, complicate the light source configuration and extend the optical system, leading to inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A variable pulse width flat-top laser device that includes a light source unit with multiple laser light sources driven at different times to emit pulse-type laser beams, a beam shaping unit to shape these beams into flat-tops, a combination/split unit to combine and split optical paths, and an imaging optical system to time-sequentially overlay the beams on a target.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a larger number of laser beams are used to improve uniformity of flat-top laser beam, then uniformity is improved, but device complexity and optical system length increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple laser beams are combined into a single optical path using beam combining optics, then shaped into a flat-top profile. This merges the functionality of multiple independent beam paths into one integrated system, maintaining uniformity while reducing overall device complexity and optical path length
Solution Approach 2:
The laser beam generation is segmented into multiple light sources that are driven at different times, with each source contributing to different portions of the final flat-top beam. This segmentation allows uniformity improvement while managing system complexity through coordinated operation rather than simultaneous complex routing
2Manufacturing precision
If a larger number of laser beams are used to improve uniformity of flat-top laser beam, then uniformity is improved, but optical system length increases
Solution Approach 1:
Beam combining optics merge multiple laser beam paths into a single consolidated optical path before the beam shaping unit. This merging dramatically reduces the overall optical system length by eliminating the need for multiple separate optical paths to extend across the system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses temporal dimension by driving multiple laser light sources at different times rather than simultaneously. This time-sequential approach allows multiple beams to share the same optical path in different time slots, effectively reducing spatial requirements and optical system length while maintaining the ability to create uniform flat-top beams
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a laser device. A laser device includes a light source unit configured to emit a first laser beam and a second laser beam, and a beam shaping unit configured to receive the first laser beam and the second laser beam on an incident surface and to shape the first laser beam and the second laser beam into a first processing beam, wherein the beam shaping unit is further configured, to have the incident surface including four quadrants, to receive the first laser beam on a first quadrant and the second laser beam on a second quadrant, and to shape the first laser beam and the second laser beam being emitted at different timing from the first laser beam into the first processing beam.