Compensation of thermal optical effects

Optical unit which can be brought into a beam path of an optical arrangement for compensating thermal optical effects of optical components present in a beam of said beam path of the optical arrangement, comprising

• at least three optical transparent elements in said beam path for compensating
• said at least three optical elements having a close thermal contact,
• adjacent elements of said at least three elements having different material properties and cooperate effectively for said compensating,
• said different material properties are
• a different absorption for radiation of said beam,
• a different thermal conduction or
• a different thermal dispersion,
• said different material properties causing the following effects
• a heating by radiation absorption of said beam, a distribution of temperature dependent of said heating by said thermal conduction and creating a thermal lens for said beam by said thermal dispersion dependent on said temperature distribution;
• for the purpose of compensation said effects being distributable over said at least three elements and there is no need for only one and the same element to fulfill all said functions.

Optical arrangement having a beam path and an optical unit for generating or amplifying radiation having an optical active medium,

• said radiation being a beam traveling at said beam path,
• said unit being part of optical arrangement,
• said optical active medium being divided into partial separated optical solid media,
• said unit comprising at least three transparent optical elements,
• two of said at least three elements situated at each side of an optical third element of said at least three elements being said partial optical solid media,
• said optical third element being a compensation space filled with an optical transparent compensation medium,
• said compensation medium having a close thermal contact to each of said adjacent partial optical solid media and being used in co-operation with said partial optical solid media,
• said partial optical solid media and said compensation medium having different material properties and cooperate effectively for said compensating,
• said different material properties are
• a different absorption for said radiation of said beam,
• a different thermal conduction or
• a different thermal dispersion,
• said different material properties causing the following effects
• a heating by radiation absorption of said beam,
• a distribution of temperature dependent on said heating by said thermal conduction, and
• creating a thermal lens for said beam by said thermal dispersion dependent on said temperature distribution;
• said optical solid media having a prescribed radiation absorption of the radiation of said beam by said absorption of the radiation of said beam and by said thermal conduction said temperature distribution is created in said optical solid media,
• said temperature distribution
• being imprinted by said close thermal contact to said compensating medium for compensating thermal optical effects in said partial optical solid media,
• for the purpose of compensation said effects being distributed over said at least two partial optical solid media and said at least one compensation medium and there is no need for only one and the same optical element to fulfill all said functions.

Method for compensating thermal optical effects in an arrangement containing optical components generating or amplifying radiation,

• said arrangement having abeam path for said generated or amplified radiation and including at least three optical transparent elements having close thermal contact,
• said radiation being radiated in a beam,
• adjacent elements of said at least three elements having different material properties,
• said different material properties are
• a different absorption for said radiation of said beam,
• a different thermal conduction or
• a different thermal dispersion,
• said different material properties causing the following effects
• a heating by radiation absorption of said beam,
• a distribution of temperature dependent on said heating by said thermal conduction and
• creating a thermal lens for said beam by said thermal dispersion dependent on said temperature distribution;
• for the purpose of compensation said effects being distributed over said at least three elements and there is no need for only one and the same element to fulfill all said functions.