Rectangular flat-top beam shaper
AssigneeStockerYale Canada Inc.
InventorFrancis Cayer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to a beam shaping system for providing a square or rectangular laser beam having a controlled intensity profile (uniform, super gaussian or cosine corrected for example) from an incident non-uniform beam intensity profile laser beam source (a Gaussian profile, a profile with astigmatism or any non-rotationally symmetric and non-uniform profile for example). The beam shaping system uses a first acylindrical lens for shaping the incident laser beam along a first axis and a second acylindrical lens orthogonally disposed relative to the first acylindrical lens and for shaping the incident beam along a second axis. The thereby provided light beam is a rectangular beam having a controlled intensity distribution in the far field.
Claims36
A beam shaping system for providing a shaped beam substantially rectangular and having a controlled intensity profile in a far field region, from an incident beam having a predetermined intensity profile along a first and a second axis, said beam shaping system comprising:
- a first and a second acylindrical lens each having a primary acylindrical surface with a base curve, said first and said second acylindrical lenses being disposed substantially orthogonally to one another, said first acylindrical lens for shaping said incident beam along said first axis and said second acylindrical lens for shaping said incident beam along said second axis, thereby providing said substantially rectangular shaped beam;
- wherein said base curve of said first lens fits a first equation in a Cartesian coordinate system (x,y), said first equation being
- y
- =
- c
- 1
-
- x
- 2
- 1
- +
- (
- 1
- -
- (
- 1
- +
- Q
- 1
- )
-
- c
- 1
- 2
-
- x
- 2
- )
- 1
- /
- 2
- +
- f
- 1
-
- (
- x
- )
- ,
- c1 being a first curvature constant, Q1 being a first conic constant and ƒ1(x) being a first correction function, said first correction function being continuous;
- and
- wherein said base curve of said second lens fits a second equation in another Cartesian coordinate system (x,y), said second equation being
- y
- =
- c
- 2
-
- x
- 2
- 1
- +
- (
- 1
- -
- (
- 1
- +
- Q
- 2
- )
-
- c
- 2
- 2
-
- x
- 2
- )
- 1
- /
- 2
- +
- f
- 2
-
- (
- x
- )
- ,
- c2 being a second curvature constant and Q2 being a second conic constant and ƒ2(x) being a second correction function, said second correction function being continuous.
A rectangular beam light source for providing a substantially rectangular shaped beam having a controlled intensity profile, said rectangular beam light source comprising:
- an incident light source for providing an incident beam having a predetermined cross-sectional intensity profile along a first axis and a second axis;
- and
- a first and a second acylindrical lens each having a primary acylindrical surface with a base curve, said first and said second acylindrical lenses being disposed substantially orthogonally to one another, said first acylindrical lens for shaping said incident beam along said first axis and said second acylindrical lens for shaping said incident beam along said second axis, thereby providing said substantially rectangular shaped beam;
- wherein said base curve of said first lens fits a first equation in a Cartesian coordinate system (x,y), said first equation being
- y
- =
- c
- 1
-
- x
- 2
- 1
- +
- (
- 1
- -
- (
- 1
- +
- Q
- 1
- )
-
- c
- 1
- 2
-
- x
- 2
- )
- 1
- /
- 2
- +
- f
- 1
-
- (
- x
- )
- ,
- c1 being a first curvature constant, Q1 being a first conic constant and ƒ1(x) being a first correction function, said first correction function being continuous;
- and
- wherein said base curve of said second lens fits a second equation in another Cartesian coordinate system (x,y), said second equation being
- y
- =
- c
- 2
-
- x
- 2
- 1
- +
- (
- 1
- -
- (
- 1
- +
- Q
- 2
- )
-
- c
- 2
- 2
-
- x
- 2
- )
- 1
- /
- 2
- +
- f
- 2
-
- (
- x
- )
- ,
- c2 being a second curvature constant and Q2 being a second conic constant and ƒ2(x) being a second correction function, said second correction function being continuous.
A beam shaping system for providing a substantially rectangular beam having a controlled intensity profile from an incident beam having a predetermined intensity profile along a first axis and a second axis, said beam shaping system comprising:
- a first and a second acylindrical lens each having a primary acylindrical surface having a base curve substantially in the shape of an angle with a rounded apex, said first lens for shaping said incident beam along said first axis and said second lens for shaping said incident beam along said second axis;
- wherein said first and said second acylindrical lenses are disposed substantially orthogonally to one another, thereby providing said substantially rectangular shaped beam in a far field region.
A beam shaping system for providing a substantially rectangular beam having a controlled intensity profile from an incident beam having a predetermined intensity profile along a first axis and a second axis, said beam shaping system comprising:
- a first and a second lens each having a primary acylindrical surface having a base curve with a radius of curvature that varies along said base curve, said radius of curvature being smaller in a center of said base curve and increasing smoothly towards both of extremities of said base curve;
- wherein said first lens and said second lens are disposed orthogonally to one another, said first lens for shaping said incident beam along said first axis and said second lens for shaping said incident beam along said second axis, thereby providing said substantially rectangular beam in a far field region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.