Optical arrangement and method for controlling and influencing a light ray
AssigneeLeica Microsystems CMS GmbH
InventorsHolger Birk, Volker Seyfried
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical arrangement and a related method for operating this optical arrangement are suggested, particularly in microscopes, for use as at least one of a main beam splitter and a beam combiner. One or more light beams can be coupled into the arrangement and at least one of the light beams that were coupled in can be coupled out again after having passed through the optical arrangement. In the path of the coupled in light beams at least one controllable microstructured element is provided, allowing to switch beam paths within the optical arrangement. This allows controlling or influencing the one or more light beams that are coupled out.
Claims22
Optical arrangement for use as at least one of a main beam splitter and a beam combiner of a microscope, comprising:
- an optically dispersive medium chromatically dispersing a coupled in polychromatic light beam in space;
- at least one controllable microstructured element that is provided downstream of the optically dispersive medium and comprises a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) having an array of segments, allowing to switch the beam paths within the optical arrangement, resulting in at least one of controlling and influencing of one or more light beams that are coupled out;
- and an optically combining medium downstream of the controllable microstructured element combining chromatically dispersed light reflected by the DMD into the optically combining medium;
- wherein the optical arrangement is configured to couple one or more light beams into the arrangement, modify at least one of the one or more light beams by reflecting after chromatic dispersion in space parts of the one or more light beams by the controllable microstructured element into the optically combining medium, and coupling out at least one of the light beams that were coupled in after having passed through the optical combining medium;
- and microlenses are allocated to the segments of the microstructured elements for focussing the incident light onto these segments and increasing a fill factor for the coupled in light beam incident on the array of segments.
Method of controlling and influencing a light beam by means of an optical arrangement for use as at least one of a main beam splitter and a beam combiner of a microscope, comprising:
- an optically dispersive medium chromatically dispersing a coupled in polychromatic light beam in space;
- at least one controllable microstructured element that is provided downstream of the optically dispersive medium and comprises a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) having an array of segments, allowing to switch the beam paths within the optical arrangement, resulting in at least one of controlling and influencing of one or more light beams that are coupled out;
- and an optically combining medium downstream of the controllable microstructured element combining chromatically dispersed light reflected by the DMD into the optically combining medium;
- wherein the optical arrangement is adapted configured to couple one or more light beams into the arrangement, modify at least one of the one or more light beams by reflecting after chromatic dispersion in space parts of the one or more light beams by the controllable microstructured element into the optically combining medium, and coupling out at least one of the light beams that were coupled in after having passed through the optical combining medium;
- and microlenses are allocated to the segments of the microstructured elements for focussing the incident light onto these segments and increasing a fill factor for the coupled in light beam incident on the array of segments;
- said method comprising:
- (a) coupling in one or more light beams into the optical arrangement;
- (b) chromatically dispersing the one or more light beams in space to generate one or more chromatically dispersed light beams;
- (c) focussing the one or more chromatically dispersed light beams by the microlenses onto the segments;
- (d) reflecting at least a part of the one or more chromatically dispersed light beams by means of the microstructured element into the beam combiner for combining that at least part of the one or more chromatically dispersed light beams to a light beam to be coupled out;
- and (e) coupling out the light beam to be coupled out.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.