Ii-Vi Delaware, Inc.

Carl Zeiss Smt Gmbh

Rpx Corporation

Highyag Lasertechnologie Gmbh

Danny Chan

Hans-Juergen Mann

Horst Knoedgen

Hans-Jürgen Mann

Sascha Migura

Patrick Kühl

Alexander Müller

Hannes Noack

Georg Schmidt

Romon Chakrabarti

Juergen Hausmann

Nedzad Halkic

An apparatus calibrates a laser processing machine and includes an imaging sensor and a controller. The controller directs output of a beam from the machine's low power pointer laser and directs an actuator at measurement conditions. Images of the beam are obtained by an imaging sensor, and the controller measures a parameter of at least one of the machine's optical components. The controller then outputs an indication of the machine indicative of the measured parameter. For example, the controller can calculate a focus position of the beam from the laser head so the Z-position of the laser head can be adjusted for any discrepancies. In other examples, the controller can determine an offset of the fiber tip of the head so adjustments to operations can be made, or the controller can determine centering of the beam in the head's nozzle so adjustments can be made.

System and method to measure and calibrate laser processing machine using low-power beam profiler

A laser processing head for directing a laser beam includes two reflectors and a sole lens element. The first reflector disposed in a housing's interior reflects the laser beam from a source to the second reflector, which then reflects the laser beam toward a process zone for a workpiece. The single lens element is disposed in the housing's interior between the reflectors. The lens element can be moved to adjust a focal position of the laser beam beyond the housing's outlet. To reduce contamination, one or more nozzles are configured to direct purge gas across one or more of the first reflector, the second reflector, and the lens element, while one or more collection areas disposed in the interior are configured to collect contamination directed from the purge gas.

Laser processing head having contamination resistance

A laser processing head transmits a laser beam to a process zone. An input lens fixedly mounted in the head images the beam from an input with a first (negative) focal length along an optical axis. An intermediate lens is movably mounted in the head in connection with an actuator, which can move the intermediate lens along the axis at a variable lens distance relative to the input lens. The intermediate lens images the beam with a second (positive) focal length. An output lens fixedly mounted in the head images the beam with a third (positive) focal length along the axis to a focal point. The third focal length is greater than the second focal length and provides a large working distance. The focal point can be varied at a variable focal distance along the axis in relation to the variable lens distance by which the intermediate lens is moved.

Dynamic focus for laser processing head

A high-power laser processing head has precisely centered stationary lenses. The assembly of the lenses in the head can reduce contamination. The lens is affixed (soldered) in a ring-shaped highly precise mount, which ensures a high thermal conductivity of the joining interface. The mount and lens can be cleaned as a unit and inserted in a precisely manufactured receptacle of a housing module. A seal can provide sealing between an inner surface in the receptacles and a base surfaces of the mount. The modules has a groove around the diameter of the receptacle to catch any particles generated when inserting the lens mounts into the receptacle. The assembly is clamped into place by the next housing module. The lens is directly cooled by the module's body to mitigate contamination on the lens surface. During repairs, both lens and mount can be exchanged as a unit.

Mechanical mount for stationary, actively-cooled lenses in high power laser material processing head

A sensing apparatus monitors a cover optic on a laser processing head for contamination, indicating the need to replace the cover optic. The apparatus includes at least one reflector and at least one sensors that are disposed in the processing head adjacent a periphery of the cover optic. The reflector reflects radiation from the laser beam deflected from contamination on the cover optic and incident thereagainst. The sensor is offset from the reflector and detects at least a portion of the radiation reflected by the reflector. A controller in communication with the sensor can determine the contamination on the cover optic based on the detected radiation.

Sensing arrangement for monitoring contamination of cover slide on laser processing head

The invention concerns an optical device and its application to generate an adjustable wave front deformation of a laser beam and thus to generate an adjustable beam spot geometry in the focal plane of laser optics. For this purpose, a device is provided which allows adjusting and modifying a laser beam in such a way that a beam spot, the shape of which can be adjusted continuously based on the original focal shape, is generated after focusing the beam, i.e. at least one dimension parameter of the shape of the beam spot has to be variable and adjustable so that the beam parameter product of the beam can also be modified without having to modify the focal position.

Optical device for beam shaping

An optical system is disclosed that includes a plurality of elements arranged to image radiation at a wavelength &#x3bb; from an object field in an object surface to an image field in an image surface. The elements include mirror elements have a reflective surface formed by a reflective coating positioned at a path of radiation. At least one of the mirror elements has a rotationally asymmetrical reflective surface deviating from a best-fit rotationally symmetric reflective surface by about &#x3bb; or more at one or more locations. The elements include an apodization correction element effective to correct a spatial intensity distribution in an exit pupil of the optical system relative to the optical system without the apodization correcting element. The apodization correction element can be effective to increase symmetry of the spatial intensity distribution in the exit pupil relative to the optical system without the apodization correcting element.

Projection objective having mirror elements with reflective coatings

A system to stabilize images of a digital camera adjusting to unintentional movements of the camera during capture of an image has been achieved. A gyroscopic sensor senses any movement of a camera by angular speed detection and via an electronic regulator at least two linear motors move an x-y table, carrying an optical sensor or a lens barrel of the camera, in a way to adjust the optical sensor to these movements. Position sensors, as e.g. sensors integrated in the linear motors, capacitive sensors, inductive sensors, or Hall sensors, sense the actual position of one or more movable plates of the x-y table and feed it back to the regulator. The movable plates of x-y table are guided by a multitude of rolling elements, e.g. ball bearings.

Image stabilization

Methods are disclosed for digital cameras to gain tilt information of an image sensor of the camera in order to achieve a fast correction for this tilt. By moving the lens of the camera to positions providing a maximum sharpness of at least three regions of interest (ROI) in the image sensor the tilt of the image sensor is calculated by using the correspondent lens/sensor distances and the distances of the different ROIs to the center of the image sensor. Yaw and pitch values of the tilt of the image sensor are calculated to enable an alignment of the sensor.

Fast measurement of alignment data of a camera system

An optical system is disclosed that includes a plurality of elements arranged to image radiation at a wavelength &#x3bb; from an object field in an object surface to an image field in an image surface. The elements include mirror elements having a reflective surface formed by a reflective coating positioned at a path of radiation. At least one of the mirror elements has a rotationally asymmetrical reflective surface deviating from a best-fit rotationally symmetric reflective surface by about &#x3bb; or more at one or more locations. The elements include an apodization correction element effective to correct a spatial intensity distribution in an exit pupil of the optical system relative to the optical system without the apodization correcting element. The apodization correction element can be effective to increase symmetry of the spatial intensity distribution in the exit pupil relative to the optical system without the apodization correcting element.

An optical system has a plurality of elements arranged to image radiation at a wavelength &#x3bb; from an object surface to an image surface, the elements include mirror elements having a reflective surface positioned at a path of radiation. At least one of the mirror elements is a pupil mirror having a pupil mirror surface arranged at or near to a pupil surface of the optical system. At least one of the remaining mirror elements is a highly loaded mirror having a mirror surface arranged at a position where at least one of a largest value of a range of angles of incidence and a largest value of an average angle incidence of all remaining mirrors occurs, where the remaining mirrors include all mirrors except for the pupil mirror. The pupil mirror surface is formed by a reflective coating designed as a one-dimensionally graded coating including a multilayer stack of layers of different materials, the layers having a geometrical layer thickness which varies according to a first grading function in a first direction of the coating and which is substantially constant in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The mirror surface of the highly loaded mirror is coated with a reflective mirror coating designed as a graded coating according to a second grading function.

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Berlin, Germany

Danny Chan