Rotational Optical Mount for Stable Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical mounts lack stability while trying to maintain easy adjustability, leading to errors and noise in optical measurements due to mechanical and thermal drift, and are either too time-consuming to adjust or prone to increased drift from multiple moving components.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable optical mount design featuring a front plate and base that allows for vertical and horizontal adjustments of the optical axis by rotating the front plate relative to the base, using a shaft and bore configuration, and incorporating a locking mechanism to maintain alignment without shifting the beam.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple moving components are used to enable easy adjustment, then adjustability is improved, but mechanical and thermal drift increase leading to reduced stability
Solution Approach 1:
The mount is divided into distinct functional segments: a base plate for horizontal rotation, a front plate for vertical rotation, and a shared rotation axis. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific adjustment function independently, reducing cumulative drift effects while maintaining ease of operation through modular adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
A rotation axis serves as an intermediary element between the base plate and front plate, enabling controlled relative rotation. This intermediary structure provides a stable reference frame that reduces direct mechanical coupling and minimizes thermal drift transmission between components while still allowing smooth adjustment motion.
2Reliability
If a fixed mount structure is used to ensure stability, then reliability is improved, but adjustment capability becomes time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The mount transitions from a fixed structure to a dynamic system with controlled rotational freedom. The base plate and front plate can rotate relative to each other around a shared axis, enabling quick adjustment of the optical component orientation while maintaining stability through the rigid rotation mechanism and defined rotational constraints.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the optical component position is adjusted frequently, then adaptability is improved, but mechanical drift and alignment errors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rotation mechanism provides inherent feedback through the shared rotation axis, where the relative angular position between base plate and front plate can be monitored and controlled. This feedback mechanism helps maintain alignment precision during frequent adjustments by allowing real-time correction of positional deviations.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides improvements to adjustable optical mounts that increase the stability of the optical mount alignment while providing for the alignment to be easy adjusted. Various aspects of the present disclosure related to an optical mount for adjusting the position of an optical component, the optical mount comprising: a front plate comprising a front surface, a back surface, and a shaft, wherein the front surface is configured to support the optical component, and the shaft extends from the back surface of the front plate; and a base comprising a bore, wherein the bore is configured to receive the shaft of the front plate such that the front plate is configured to rotate around an axis of rotation of the front plate that is aligned with the shaft.