Lumonics Inc.

Lightmachinery Inc.

John Reid

Edward S Williams

Ian J Miller

John H Hunter

David R Walker

George S Castle

Hubert Jean-Ruel

Jesse Dean

Robert K Brimacombe

Steven D Hastie

Steven J Gutz

Thomas A Znotins

The invention relates to a multi-resolution optical spectrometer that employs two output lenses of different focal length to provide a broad wavelength range, coarse resolution spectral measurement and a high resolution, lower range spectral measurement. Light dispersed by a virtual image phase array followed by a diffraction grating in two different dispersion orders may be separately focused by the two lenses upon to 2D detector array to provide the two measurements.

Multi-resolution optical spectrometer

A laser machining (including marking) method that employs a diode laser pumped solid state laser is controlled by a computer that contains a program for the interaction of the laser beam with a workpiece. The pumping of the laser is synchronised with the action of the beam in a series of active machining periods alternating with inactive non-machining periods. In order to avoid overheating of the active element, the duty cycle of these periods is maintained below a chosen value and no active period is allowed to exceed a selected percentage of the thermal time constant of the active element.

Laser machining of a workpiece

Dust in a gas laser, particularly an excimer laser, is removed from the gas charge by one or more electrostatic precipitators that are located inside the laser vessel in the path of gas circulation that is produced by a fan and passes through the discharge area defined by the main discharge electrodes. The gas is caused to travel rapidly past the precipitator so that only a minor proportion of the dust is removed at each pass, but a low background level of dust in the gas is soon achieved and maintained by repeated such passes. This technique of employing multiple passes, each removing only a small percentage of the dust in the gas at any given time, can also be applied to a system in which the precipitator is located outside the vessel and is connected thereto by conduits.

Dust precipitation in a gas laser

Purification of the gas mixture used in an excimer laser is carried out by cooling such mixture in a cryogenic trap to a temperature that is low enough that the lasting gas or gases (e.g. krypton, xenon, fluorine, hydrogen chloride) and the impurities are all substantially fully condensed. This temperature is nevertheless sufficiently high that the buffer gas (neon or helium or a mixture thereof) remains substantially all in gaseous form. The trap is then isolated from the laser vessel and the condensed gases therein are treated to remove at least the condensed impurities from the system. In a xenon chloride laser the condensed impurities can be effectively separated from the condensed laser gases by heating, i.e. differential distillation. After this has been done, the laser gases are returned to the laser vessel. In those instances in which such separation by differential distillation is not practicable, e.g. a krypton fluoride laser, some or all of the condensed lasing gas or gases is removed from the system together with the condensed impurities. Fresh charges of these lasing gases are then supplied to the laser vessel as required. The procedure is characterized by the fact that the buffer gas is retained and reused indefinitely. The method avoids the expense of having to periodically recharge the laser vessel with an entire fill of fresh buffer and lasing gases.

Purification of laser gases

In an excimer laser system with wavelength bandwidth narrowing, a feedback loop for monitoring and correcting the tuning of the laser employs a wavelength calibration device in the form of a gas with an absorption peak at the desired narrow wavelength. A portion of the laser output received through the gas provides the information for generating the correction signal.

Growing community of inventors

Stittsville, Canada

John Reid