Laser Welded Glass Optical Components for Resonator Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laser resonator arrangements face issues with thermal stability, material stresses, misalignment, and contamination due to shrinkage effects and vaporization of adhesives or soldering materials, leading to unstable behavior and potential failure, especially at higher laser powers and smaller sizes.
Innovation Solution
The use of laser beam welding to directly bond optical components made of glass, glass ceramic, or crystalline ceramic to a carrier plate or intermediate elements made of the same materials, eliminating the need for adhesives or solder and ensuring similar thermal expansion coefficients for stress-free connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesive or soldering pad is used to mount optical components, then the components can be fixed to the carrier plate, but shrinkage effects occur during hardening or solidification that lead to misalignment and reduce adjustment accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the adhesive or soldering pad from the mounting process entirely, replacing it with direct laser beam welding between the optical component and carrier plate. This extraction eliminates the shrinkage effects that cause misalignment while maintaining secure mechanical attachment through the welded joint.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the chemical bonding mechanism (adhesive hardening) or metallurgical bonding (solder solidification) with a thermal melting and fusion process using laser beam welding. This substitution eliminates the phase change and shrinkage associated with adhesive or solder solidification, providing dimensional stability during joining.
2Reliability
If adhesive or soldering pad is used to mount optical components, then the components can be fixed to the carrier plate, but at higher laser powers the adhesive or soldering pad evaporates and contaminates the resonator chamber
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the adhesive or soldering pad materials from the system, replacing them with a direct material-to-material welded joint between the optical component and carrier plate. This extraction eliminates the source of evaporation and contamination that would occur at high laser powers, as the glass-ceramic materials have high thermal stability and do not evaporate under operating conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameters of the mounting interface from organic adhesives or metallic solders to inorganic glass-ceramic materials with high thermal stability. This parameter change raises the evaporation temperature well above laser operating temperatures, eliminating contamination while maintaining bonding reliability.
3Strength
If optical components are soldered to the carrier plate, then mechanical connection is achieved, but metallization of surfaces increases costs and different expansion coefficients cause material stresses under thermal stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses homogeneous glass-ceramic materials for both the optical components and carrier plate, eliminating the need for metallization layers. This homogeneity simplifies the manufacturing process while providing strong mechanical connection through laser welding and matching thermal expansion coefficients to prevent material stresses under thermal loading.
4Manufacturing precision
If adhesive gap thickness is minimized to avoid shrinkage distortion, then alignment accuracy improves, but the number of degrees of freedom for positioning is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the adhesive gap entirely by using direct laser beam welding that fuses the optical component directly to the carrier plate surface. This extraction eliminates shrinkage distortion while the laser welding process itself provides positioning flexibility through programmable beam movement and multi-axis positioning capabilities during the welding operation.
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
This approach enhances adjustment accuracy and longevity of optical components, reduces the risk of misalignment and contamination, and allows for more precise and thermally stable laser resonator arrangements by minimizing shrinkage and heat input, while being cost-effective and suitable for automation.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one optical component fixed on the support plate being made of Glass, in particular quartz glass, is made of glass ceramic or crystalline ceramic and is either directly bonded to the carrier plate by at least one laser welded joint
Implementation Method 2
Laser beam glass welding has hitherto been used to locally selectively weld silica glass fibers to optical glasses
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a laser resonator arrangement (2) with several optical components (5, 6, 7, 8, 11) and with a support plate (13) made of glass, in particular quartz glass, glass ceramic or crystalline ceramic, on which at least one of the optical components (5, 6, 7, 8, 11) is mounted, wherein the at least one optical component (5, 6, 7, 8, 11) mounted on the support plate (13) is made of glass, in particular quartz glass, glass ceramic or crystalline ceramic and is either directly bonded to the support plate (13) by at least one laser weld (14) or is attached by means of an intermediate element (30) made of glass, in particular quartz glass, glass ceramic or crystalline ceramic, which is in each case bonded to both the at least one optical component (5, 6, 7, 8, 11) and the support plate (13) by at least one laser weld (141, 142). is bonded by a material-bonded connection.