Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

University of California

Nlight, Incorporated

Nlight Photonics Corporation

Other

Scott A Lerner

Anurag Gupta

James W Ring

Wiatt E Kettle

Scott R Karlsen

Brett E Dahlgren

Charles L Bennett

Michael P Chrisp

Conor D Kelly

Paul J Kuzmenko

Robert J Martinsen

Arthur Piehl

P Guy Howard

John R Sterner

David L Erickson

R Kirk Price

Kirk Price

Chien-Hua Chen

Raymond Kirk Price

Alexander N Govyadinov

William James Allen

Charles Craig Haluzak

Isabella Talley Lewis

James R Cole

Jon Brewster

Ravi Prasad

Tim R Koch

Kuohua Wu

Karl S Weibezahn

Karsten N Wilson

William R Boucher

Stuart Allman

Steven L Harper

Quan Qi

Franc Potekev

John Hellgeth

Terry Piper

Jay V Bixler

An apparatus includes beam shearing optics situated to receive a collimated beam and to shear the collimated beam along a first direction so as to form a plurality of adjacent collimated beam portions, and homogenization optics situated to receive and homogenize the adjacent collimated beam portions along at least the first direction so as to produce a homogenized output beam. A method includes shearing a collimated beam having a beam parameter product (bpp) along an axis so as to form a plurality of sheared collimated beam portions, and arranging the sheared collimated beam portions adjacent to each other so that a line beam having a length and thickness that is formed with the light from the sheared collimated beam portions has a lower bpp associated with the line beam thickness than the bpp of the collimated beam along the axis.

Reverse interleaving for laser line generators

Laser module including a meniscus collimating lens. In some embodiments, a monolithic material having an index of at least 2.0 provides a concave lens surface proximal to an emission surface of the laser and a convex lens surface distal from the emission surface. In some embodiments, a perimeter of the collimating lens has a face-flat that may be disposed directly against a reference surface while the concave lens surface is separated from the emission surface. The meniscus lens may advantageously provide reduced angle of ray incidence and require lower asphericity relative to a plano-convex collimating lens.

Laser module with meniscus collimating lens

A diode laser apparatus includes a plurality of spaced apart diode lasers, each of the diode lasers situated and configured to emit a diode laser beam substantially parallel to each other diode laser beam in an emission plane in a first direction, and a plurality of reflectors situated with respect to the diode lasers and configured to receive respective diode laser beams and to reflect the respective diode laser beams substantially parallel and out of the emission plane at a small angle therewith in a second direction such that the reflected diode laser beams are in a stacked configuration.

Laser diode apparatus utilizing out of plane combination

An imaging system for use with an input light beam having power of 2 kW or greater and a predetermined intensity profile across at least on axis transverse to a propagation axis thereof, includes a mask disposed in relation to the input light beam, the mask configured to direct selected portions of the input light beam, and an optical relay disposed in relation to the mask and configured to reflectively direct the selected portions of the input light beam to a target.

High power laser imaging systems

An imaging system includes a beam generating system configured to generate a light beam of 0.5 kW or greater with a predetermined intensity profile across at least one axis transverse to a propagation axis thereof and to direct the light beam along a beam path, a light modulator configured to receive the light beam and to modulate the light beam into a predetermined illumination pattern, and an optical relay configured to receive the portion of the light beam and reflectively project the beam to a target, wherein the illumination pattern is imaged at the target with substantially time-invariant spatial accuracies of 500 &#x3bc;m or less in a plane transverse to the propagation axis and 1000 &#x3bc;m or less parallel to the propagation axis.

A laser diode apparatus including a mounting block, a plurality of diode lasers mounted to the mounting block and each capable of emitting a respective diode laser beam, and a plurality of cylindrical mirrors each having a reflective back surface for providing slow axis collimation of an incident diode laser beam via reflection off the back surface, each one of the plurality of cylindrical mirrors optically coupled to a respective diode laser of the plurality of diode lasers and optically oriented therewith so as to be capable of providing the diode laser beams in a stacked arrangement.

Laser diode apparatus utilizing reflecting slow axis collimators

A beam homogenizing apparatus includes at least one flexible optical fiber for receiving light, the flexible optical fiber including a homogenizing output portion having a tileable cross-section, the output portion for producing a substantially homogenized intensity profile for light emitted therefrom.

Homogenizing optical fiber apparatus and systems employing the same

Apparatus and methods related to photovoltaic energy are provided. A device includes electrically conductive supports in electrical contact with one or more photovoltaic cells. The photovoltaic cells are secured with respect to the supports by a clamping force soldering or other means. Optics concentrate and guide photonic energy onto the photovoltaic cells. Generated electrical energy is coupled to a load using the conductive supports. Heat is rejected from the photovoltaic cells using at least one of the supports and a fluid flow, thermal conduction, and so on.

Photovoltaic devices with electrically coupled supports

A solar energy device includes a first prism with a dichroic surface and a reflective surface opposite the dichroic surface. A first solar cell is positioned to receive light rays passing through the dichroic surface. A second solar cell positioned to receive light rays from the reflective surface.

High efficiency solar energy devices and methods

A light modulator assembly includes first, second, and third light modulators, with first and second dichroic mirrors. The first dichroic mirror is located at an optical pupil of said assembly and is configured to split a beam of light into a first component beam and an intermediate beam. The first dichroic mirror then transmits the first component beam to the first light modulator and reflects the intermediate beam to the second dichroic mirror. The second dichroic mirror is configured to split the intermediate beam into second and third component beams and to direct the second component beam to the second modulator and the third component beam to the third modulator. A third dichroic mirror is configured to receive the output of the first, second, and third modulators and to pass the output from the first, second, and third modulators to display optics.

Light modulator assembly

A projection assembly is provided herein. According to one exemplary embodiment, the projection assembly includes a modulator assembly, the modulator including at least one modulator panel, a projection lens assembly including a first projection lens sub-assembly in optical communication with the modulator assembly, the first projection lens sub-assembly being configured to form a virtual modulator, the virtual modulator corresponding to the output of the modulator assembly focused at a single plane.

Projection assembly

An apparatus includes an electromagnetic radiation source, a reflector about the source having an aperture and a curved band pass filter at least partially across the aperture.

Curved band-pass filter

A projection system includes a modulator and an Offner relay. The modulator is to modulate light in accordance with sub-frames of a frame of image data. The Offner relay is to differently aim, in accordance with each sub-frame, the light as modulated.

Offner relay for projection system

One embodiment of a projection device includes a modulator that reflects both imaging light and off-state light, and a projection lens including an optical plane, wherein the imaging light and the off-state light are both projected from the modulator to the optical plane.

Projection device

At least first and second narrowband beams of light, respectively of different wavelengths, are concurrently directed onto a modulator respectively at first and second angles of incidence.

Growing community of inventors

Portland, OR, United States of America

Scott A Lerner