Adjustable aperture
AssigneeSpectra-Physics, Inc.
InventorShinan-Chur S. Sheng
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An adjustable aperture is formed by a plurality of spring members secured over a passage on a frame, each spring member having a first end secured to the frame, a body extending into the passage and a second end opposite the first. The flexible members are mounted so that the plurality of second ends of the spring members form the aperture. A plunger, secured to the frame and contacting the bodies of the spring members, is provided for deflecting the spring members in an adjustable mount along the axis of light going through the passage. By deflecting the spring members which are fixed to the frame, the size of the aperture formed by the second ends of the spring members can be adjusted. The aperture formed is well suited for control of transverse modes in lasers.
Claims28
An apparatus forming an aperture having an adjustable size, comprising:
- a frame having a passage through which light may pass;
- a plurality of flexible members, each flexible member having a first end secured to the frame, a body extending into the passage, and a second end opposite the first end, the plurality of second ends forming the aperture, the aperture having a center;
- and
- means, secured to the frame and contacting the bodies of the flexible members, for bending the flexible members to deflect the second ends of the flexible members in adjustable amounts with respect to the center of the aperture, so that the size of the aperture is determined by the adjustable amount of deflection.
An aparatus forming an aperture having an adjustable size, comprising:
- a frame having a passage through which light may pass;
- a sheet of spring material having an outer perimeter and an aperture spaced away from the outer perimeter through which light may pass, the sheet of spring material secured to the frame over the passage near the outer perimeter;
- the sheet of spring material having a plurality of cuts extending from near the outer perimeter to the aperture which form a plurality of spring members, each spring member having a body extending from near the outer perimeter toward the aperture, and an end, and wherein the ends of the plurality of spring members define the aperture, the aperture having a center;
- means, mounted with the frame and contacting the bodies of the spring members, for bending the spring members to deflect the ends of the spring members in adjustable amounts with respect to the center of the aperture, so that the size of the aperture is determined by the adjustable amount of deflection.
An apparatus for controlling transverse modes of a laser having a resonant laser cavity defining a laser axis, the transverse modes having different cross-sectional dimensions perpendicular to the laser axis, the apparatus comprising:
- an aperture frame mounted within the laser cavity having a passage along the laser axis;
- a plurality of flexible members, each flexible member having a first end secured to the frame, a body extending into the passage, and a second end opposite the first end;
- means, secured to the aperture frame and contacting the bodies of the flexible members, for bending the flexible members to deflect the second ends of the flexible members in adjustable amounts with respect to the laser axis so that the second ends of the flexible members form an aperture having an adjustable size, so that transverse modes having cross-sectional dimensions larger than the size of the aperture are suppressed.
An apparatus for controlling transverse modes of a laser having a resonant laser cavity defining a laser axis, the transverse modes having different cross-sectional dimensions perpendicular to the laser axis, the apparatus comprising:
- an aperture frame mounted within the laser cavity having a passage along the laser axis;
- a sheet of spring material having an outer perimeter and an aperture spaced away from the outer perimeter through which light on the laser axis may pass, the sheet of spring material secured to the aperture frame over the passage near the outer perimeter;
- the sheet of spring material having a plurality of cuts extending from near the outer perimeter to the aperture which form a plurality of spring members, each spring member having a body extending from near the outer perimeter toward the aperture, and an end, and wherein the ends of the plurality of spring members define a size of the aperture;
- means, mounted with the aperture frame and contacting the bodies of the spring members, for bending the spring members to deflect the ends of the spring members in adjustable amounts with respect to the laser axis, so that the size of the aperture is adjusted and transverse modes having cross-sectional dimensions larger than the aperture are suppressed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.