US 9,310,664 B2Granted

Frequency-converted light source

AssigneeSharp Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsTim Michael Smeeton, Edward Andrew Boardman, Karl Peter Welna

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Abstract

A nonlinear frequency conversion (NLFC) component is incorporated into a light source. The light source includes a light emitting element that emits a non-diffraction limited input light beam, and the NLFC component that exhibits walkoff and performs an NLFC process, such as second harmonic generation. An optical component is configured to converge the non-diffraction limited input beam into the NLFC component with a determined convergence half-angle. The convergence half-angle in air in a non-walkoff plane of the NLFC component is larger than a convergence half-angle angle for diffraction-limited light. Said convergence half-angle may be a multiple, ε×M, multiplied by the convergence half-angle value for diffraction-limited light, wherein ε has a value between a lower value equal to the larger of 0.4 and 1 M and an upper value of 5.0, where M is the square root of the beam quality factor for the non-diffraction limited light.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A light source comprising:

a light emitting element that is configured to emit a non-diffraction limited input light beam;
a nonlinear frequency conversion (NLFC) component that exhibits walkoff and performs second harmonic generation whereby at least a portion of an output beam outputted by the NLFC component has twice a frequency of the non-diffraction limited input beam;
and
an optical component positioned to receive the non-diffraction limited input light beam and configured to converge the non-diffraction limited input beam into the NLFC component;
wherein the light emitting element is configured to emit the non-diffraction limited input light beam having a beam quality factor in at least one plane of the non-diffraction limited input beam that is greater than 2 (M2>2);
and
wherein the optical component is configured to converge the non-diffraction limited input beam to have a convergence half-angle in air in a non-walkoff plane of the NLFC component that is larger than a convergence half-angle angle for diffraction-limited light, where a beam quality factor M2 of the diffraction-limited light equals 1.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/136,202Filed 20 Dec 2013
Published: US 2015/0177593 A125 Jun 2015
Granted: 12 Apr 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

G02F 1/37
Non-linear optics: for second-harmonic generation
F21K 9/64
Optical arrangements integrated in the light source, e.g. for improving the colour rendering index or the light extraction: using wavelength…
G02F 1/3501
Non-linear optics: constructional details or arrangements of non-linear optical devices, e.g. shape of non-linear crystals
G02F 1/353
Non-linear optics: frequency conversion, i.e. wherein a light beam is generated with frequency components different from those of the incident…