Optical Component Mount Thermal Expansion Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical instruments face performance degradation due to thermal expansion or contraction of their frames, which alters the distances between optical components, leading to suboptimal performance across varying temperatures, especially in spectrometers where precise alignment is crucial.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus providing temperature-dependent movement of optical elements, utilizing a moveable mount and a mount moving component with a guide, where the difference in thermal expansion or contraction between the two causes the mount to adjust the optical element's position, maintaining optimal distances and performance across temperature changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional metal frames are used for mounting optical components, then the structure provides mechanical strength and ease of manufacture, but thermal expansion or contraction occurs with temperature changes, causing deviation from optimal optical distances and degradation of instrument performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies thermal expansion by using a mount moving component made of a material with a specific coefficient of thermal expansion that differs from the guide's material. When temperature changes occur, the mount moving component expands or contracts by a different amount than the guide, creating relative movement that compensates for thermal effects on the optical path length, thereby maintaining optimal optical performance across temperature variations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining the guide (made of one material) and the mount moving component (made of a different material with distinct thermal expansion properties). This composite structure allows each component to contribute its specific thermal characteristics, enabling the system to achieve athermalization through the controlled differential expansion between the two materials
2Reliability
If materials with very low coefficient of thermal expansion (such as Invar) are used for the frame, then thermal stability is improved, but the cost of production increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using expensive low-expansion materials like Invar for the entire frame, the patent uses thermal expansion of the mount moving component (made of conventional, cost-effective materials) to compensate for thermal effects. The mount moving component is designed to expand or contract in a controlled manner to maintain optimal optical distances, achieving athermalization without requiring expensive specialty materials throughout the structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by implementing thermal compensation only where necessary - specifically in the mount moving component that directly affects optical path length. This localized approach allows the use of different material properties only in the critical compensation mechanism rather than throughout the entire instrument frame, significantly reducing material costs while maintaining thermal stability
3Manufacturing precision
If precise placement of optical components is maintained across temperature changes, then optical performance is optimized, but the device complexity increases due to the need for temperature-dependent movement mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thermal expansion to automatically adjust the position of the optical component mounted on the moveable mount. The mount moving component expands or contracts with temperature changes, causing the optical component to move along the guide in a direction and by an amount that compensates for thermal effects on the optical path. This passive, temperature-driven mechanism maintains precise alignment without requiring complex active control systems
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting mechanism is designed to be self-regulating through the natural thermal expansion and contraction of the mount moving component. As temperature changes, the component automatically adjusts the optical element's position to maintain optimal optical path length, eliminating the need for external sensors, actuators, or control systems. The system uses its own thermal response to achieve the compensation function
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 solution ensures that the performance of optical instruments, such as spectrometers, remains consistent by compensating for thermal-induced changes, maintaining a constant spot size and optical path length, thereby enhancing the instrument's accuracy and reliability across a range of temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
a difference in thermal contraction or thermal expansion between the mount moving component and the guide in response to a change in temperature of the apparatus causes the mount moving component to move the moveable mount relative to the guide
Implementation Method 2
a difference in thermal contraction or thermal expansion between the mount moving component and the guide in response to a change in temperature of the apparatus causes the mount moving component to move the moveable mount relative to the guide
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for providing temperature-dependent movement of an optical element, the apparatus comprising: a moveable mount for the optical element; a mount moving component attached to the moveable mount; and a guide attached to the mount moving component and configured to guide a movement of the moveable mount. The apparatus is configured such that a difference in thermal contraction or thermal expansion between the mount moving component and the guide in response to a change in temperature of the apparatus causes the mount moving component to move the moveable mount relative to the guide.