Passive thermal compensation for wavelength agile laser tuners
OwnerJ. Gilbert Tisueinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Passive thermal compensation for wavelength agile tuners provides high speed, accurate laser tuning over a wide range of wavelengths and temperatures. Thermal shims (104) and (106) closely coupled to agile tuning elements (100) perform wavelength offset corrections (73) in the rapidly changing thermal environment associated with high power pulse lasers. Sensor coupling mechanisms (114) compensate housing and tuning element for gain or band sensitivity thermal variations (62). Thermal injection from both wide temperature extreme ambient and tuned energy is accommodated. Improved thermal characteristics lead to a wider range of materials for higher performance and reduced metallurgical incompatibilities.
Claims20
A thermal compensated wavelength tuner comprising:
- a wavelength selector means, having a wavelength selector angle about a wavelength selector axis, for receiving an input beam at an input beam angle and producing an output beam at an output beam angle and including a wavelength selector axially coupled to an actuator responsive to an actuator control;
- a thermal shim means for modifying an angular position of a sensing surface of the wavelength selector by a temperature dependent offset compensation angle;
- a sensor coupler means for modifying a sensor spacing between a sensor and the wavelength selector axis, and for providing thermal coupling between said sensor coupler and said sensor and for providing a temperature dependent gain compensation angle, said coupler means including at least one or more coupler materials having different thermal expansion coefficients such that said wavelength selector angle is corrected by an angle sum;
- a tuner controller means for sensing the modified wavelength selector angle sum such that the actuator control positions the wavelength selector at a predetermined wavelength of a substantially temperature invariant band of thermally compensated wavelengths.
A thermal compensated wavelength tuner comprising:
- a wavelength selector means, having a wavelength selector angle about a wavelength selector axis, for receiving an input beam at an input beam angle and producing an output beam at an output beam angle and including a wavelength selector axially coupled to an actuator and responsive to an actuator control;
- a thermal shim means for modifying an angular position of a sensing surface of the wavelength selector by a temperature dependent offset compensation angle;
- a tuner controller means for sensing the modified angular position of the wavelength selector, such that the actuator control positions the wavelength selector at a predetermined wavelength of a substantially temperature invariant band of thermally compensated wavelengths.
A method of thermally compensating a wavelength tuner to cause said wavelength tuner to accurately select wavelengths under conditions of ambient and tuned energy induced temperature variations comprising the steps of:
- providing a wavelength selector at a wavelength selector angle coupled to an actuator responsive to an actuator drive;
- providing an input beam of optical energy at a wavelength along an input beam angle;
- translating the input beam into an output beam at an output beam angle;
- supplying a wavelength selector temperature to a thermal shim structure and responsively generating a temperature dependent offset compensation angle;
- thermally coupling a sensor to a sensor coupler and responsively generating a temperature dependent gain compensation angle;
- combining the offset compensation angle and the gain compensation angle as an angle sum;
- sensing the wavelength selector angle as modified by said angle sum;
- computing the actuator drive responsive to said angle sum;
- applying said actuator drive to said actuator responsively positioning the wavelength selector to produce a substantially temperature invariant band of thermally compensated wavelengths.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.