Broadband Laser Beam Combiner for Ultra-Wide Continuum Emission
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current laser technologies are limited in combining different allocations of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as visible and infrared wavelengths, into a single beam, and most optics are not capable of handling the required wide range of wavelengths efficiently, restricting the emission to a narrow spectrum and low optical power.
Innovation Solution
A broadband multi-line laser beam combiner using dichroic mirrors and imaging optics to combine multiple laser sources across a wide spectrum from 400 nm to 5000 nm, enabling the emission of an ultra-wide continuum of wavelengths at high optical powers by reflecting and passing specific wavelengths, allowing for the coaxial combination of visible and infrared light sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional laser optics with anti-reflective coatings are used for specific wavelengths, then efficiency at those wavelengths is improved, but the ability to handle a wide range of wavelengths deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs multiple dichroic mirrors, each designed to handle different wavelength ranges (visible, SWIR, MWIR, LWIR), allowing a single optical system to efficiently combine and transmit multiple laser wavelengths simultaneously. Each mirror is optimized for specific wavelength bands while maintaining high transmission efficiency for its designated range.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical system is divided into multiple functional segments, with each dichroic mirror responsible for a specific wavelength range. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its particular wavelength band while collectively covering the entire spectrum from visible to long-wave infrared.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate laser systems are used for different wavelengths, then wavelength coverage is improved, but system complexity and alignment difficulty deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple laser sources operating at different wavelengths into a single coaxial beam path using dichroic mirrors. The visible laser, SWIR laser, MWIR laser, and LWIR laser are merged into one unified beam that can be transmitted through a single optical window, significantly reducing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Dichroic mirrors serve as intermediary optical elements that selectively reflect or transmit specific wavelength ranges, enabling the combination of multiple laser beams without direct interference. These mirrors act as mediators that route each wavelength appropriately while maintaining coaxial alignment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate laser systems are used for different wavelengths, then wavelength coverage is improved, but alignment precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By merging all laser sources into a single coaxial beam path early in the optical train, the system eliminates the need for precise alignment between multiple separate beam paths. The dichroic mirrors ensure that all wavelengths share the same optical axis, simplifying alignment requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses angular separation in the perpendicular dimension, with dichroic mirrors positioned at 45-degree angles to the beam path. This allows multiple wavelengths to be combined in the lateral dimension while maintaining coaxial propagation in the forward direction, effectively adding a spatial dimension to the combination process.
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
Enables the emission of an ultra-wide continuum of wavelengths from 400 nm to 5000 nm at optical powers greater than five Watts, advancing laser technology from monochromatic to broadband emission and allowing for the combination of multiple monochromatic and broadband lasers into a single beam, reducing the need for multiple laser systems and improving system compactness and alignment.
Implementation Method 1
a first mirror configured to reflect a first range of wavelengths of light and pass a second range of wavelengths of light such that light beams emitted from two light sources directed at the first mirror at incident angles approximately perpendicular to one another are additively combined and emitted from the first mirror
Implementation Method 2
a first imaging dichroic mirror configured to additively combine light emitted from visible or electro-optic (EO) light sources and at least one infrared light source
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a broadband multi-line laser beam combiner apparatus and method that allows a broader spectrum of light to be emitted from a single optical path. The disclosed apparatus and method provide the ability to combine a number of unique laser lines including both visual and infrared light as one optical beam that is emitted from a single emission aperture or window using both conventional dichroic mirrors and an imaging dichroic mirror. The apparatus and method are based, in part, on an optical material selection and design that affords the ability to combine multiple broadband laser sources. Rather than merely emitting discrete laser lines, the presently disclosed broadband multi-line laser beam combiner can emit an “ultra-wide-continuum” of wavelengths from approximately 400 nm to 5000 nm at emitted optical powers greater than five (5) Watts from one emission aperture/window.