Light Treatment Optics With Dichroic Beam Dump Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing light-based treatment devices face heating issues due to the absorption filter becoming excessively hot from unwanted light wavelengths, leading to discomfort and potential damage, especially when using dichroic filters, as the unwanted light reflects and recycles within the device, causing excessive heat buildup.
Innovation Solution
A treatment device design incorporating a dichroic filter at a specific angle to separate light into transmitted and reflected components, with a beam dump to absorb unwanted light and a heat sink to dissipate heat, minimizing heat buildup and improving user comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If an absorption filter is used to separate light wavelengths, then the unwanted light is absorbed and treatment light is transmitted, but the absorption filter becomes excessively hot leading to discomfort and potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful function of the absorption filter (absorbing unwanted light and becoming hot) is extracted and transferred to a dedicated beam dump component. The beam dump is specifically designed to absorb and dissipate heat away from the treatment path, separating the light separation function from the heat absorption function.
Solution Approach 2:
A beam dump intermediary component is introduced between the absorption filter and the treatment path. This beam dump acts as a mediator that intercepts unwanted light before it can heat the absorption filter excessively, and directs it to a heat sink for dissipation.
2Ease of manufacture
If a dichroic filter is used to separate light, then the treatment light is transmitted and unwanted light is reflected, but the unwanted light reflects around the interior and exits through the light exit window
Solution Approach 1:
The reflected unwanted light component is extracted from the main optical path and directed to a dedicated beam dump. This prevents the unwanted light from circulating within the device interior and exiting through the light exit window, confining it to a controlled dissipation path.
Solution Approach 2:
The reflected unwanted light, which was previously causing harm by exiting the device, is converted into a controlled beam that is deliberately directed to the beam dump. The harm is transformed into a manageable optical path that can be efficiently dissipated.
3Reliability
If the absorption filter absorbs much unwanted light, then light separation is effective, but the absorption filter reaches temperatures in excess of 200°C causing user discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The heat absorption function is extracted from the absorption filter and assigned to a dedicated beam dump with heat sink. This separates the optical filtering function from the thermal management function, allowing the absorption filter to maintain its separation reliability while the beam dump handles the heat dissipation.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal management mechanism is substituted from passive filter heat tolerance to active heat dissipation through a beam dump and heat sink system. This replaces the reliance on filter material heat resistance with a dedicated thermal conduction and dissipation pathway.
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 solution effectively reduces heat accumulation in the device, enhancing user experience by maintaining lower temperatures and preventing damage from unwanted light, while maintaining effective treatment light confinement and transmission.
Implementation Method 1
a dichroic filter arranged at a first angle with respect to incident light such that the incident light is separated into a transmitted light component and a reflected light component according to a cut-off wavelength of the dichroic filter
Implementation Method 2
a beam dump configured and arranged with respect to the dichroic filter such that the other one of the transmitted light component and reflected light component is incident on the beam dump and absorbed by the beam dump
Implementation Method 3
a heat sink coupled to the beam dump to dissipate heat from the beam dump
Data Source
AI summary
According to an aspect, there is provided a treatment device (2; 30; 60; 130) for performing light-based treatment operations on or to a subject. The treatment device (2; 30; 60; 130) comprises a light source (12) for generating light for performing the treatment operation; a dichroic filter (34; 64; 104; 134) arranged at a first angle with respect to the incident light such that the incident light is separated into a transmitted light component and a reflected light component according to a cut-off wavelength of the dichroic filter (34; 64; 104; 134), wherein the transmitted light component is transmitted through the dichroic filter (34; 64; 104; 134) and the reflected light component is reflected by the dichroic filter (34; 64; 104; 134); a light exit window (10) through which a light component is emitted from the treatment device (2; 30; 60; 130); a beam dump (44; 74; 140) configured to absorb a light component; and a heat sink (46; 76; 142) coupled to the beam dump (44; 74; 140) to dissipate heat from the beam dump (44; 74; 140). The light exit window (10) and beam dump (44; 74; 140) are arranged with respect to the dichroic filter (34; 64; 104; 134) such that one of the transmitted light component and the reflected light component is emitted from the treatment device (2; 30; 60; 130) via the light exit window (10) and the other one of the transmitted light component and reflected light component is incident on the beam dump (44; 74; 140). The dichroic filter (34; 64; 104; 134) is provided on a first surface of a solid dichroic prism (38; 68) or an internal surface in a solid dichroic cuboid.