Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Electro Scientific Industries, Inc.

Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co., Ltd.

Matsushita Electronic Industrial Co., Ltd

Xinbing Liu

Ming Li

Chen-Hsiung Cheng

Makoto Ishizuka

Tetsuo Ohara

Rajminder Singh

Daniel Hogan

Jimmy Yi-Jie Jia

Ho Wai Lo

Hisashi Matsumoto

Abdelkrim Tatah

Corey M Dunsky

Jon Ethington

Nancy Edwards

Bryan C Gundrum

Janet Milliez

Nicholas J Croglio

John Edward Cronin

Daisuke Ueda

Mamoru Takeda

Hisahito Ogawa

Hiroyuki Sakai

Atsushi Sogami

Masaaki Nishijima

Hidenao Kataoka

Kouki Ichihashi

Kazuaki Ohkubo

Kazuo Nishimura

Mitsuhiko Kimoto

Yosuke Mizuyama

Satoshi Yamauchi

Robert Swain

Steven Sansone

Craig First

Christian F Greig

Christopher Rose

Dan Hogan

A light diffuser panel for coupling to an optical element, includes a plurality of first type layers of a first type of material with a refractive index n, and a plurality of second type layers of a second type of material with a different refractive index n, wherein each of the first type layers and each of the second type layers are arranged to form a plurality of interface surfaces between alternating first type layers and second type layers, tilted at a plurality of angles with tilt axes that are parallel to a plane of the light diffuser panel, such that visible light from the optical element is transmitted through the light diffuser panel and the interface surfaces, and a portion of the visible light from the optical element is reflected out of the light diffuser panel at each of the interface surfaces.

Transparent illumination panel and method of manufacturing

A structured diamond tool having a predefined grayscale grating profile shape allows a corresponding grayscale grating profile to be machined into a work piece with a single pass with high accuracy. Manufacture of grayscale gratings using this technique saves time compared to the situation where the profile is machined by a single-point diamond tool with multiple passes. Also, more time-saving is realized if more than one period is machined in the diamond tool. Such a tool can be manufactured using a high precision focused ion beam (FIB), which is a true nanomachining tool that can machine features on the order of tens of nanometers. The diamond tool made by FIB therefore has extremely fine resolution and features required by the grayscale grating.

Structured diamond tool made by focused ion beam nanomachining

A method is provided for manufacturing a high-precision mold whereby a feature matching a desired feature design is carved into a hard mold material () using, for example, a diamond grinding wheel and/or a diamond turning point. Inherent imprecision and errors () introduced by the use of the grinding wheel/turning point are measured to determine deviations from the desired feature design. An ultrafast shortpulse laser is then activated to desirably ablate the deviations, thereby correcting the errors and conforming the feature to the desired shape. Furthermore, a thin film () may be formed over the feature either prior to or after the laser ablation process, where the error measurement and laser ablation processes detects and ablates errors on the surface of the thin film, respectively. Additionally, the laser ablation process may be applied directly to, for example, an optical lens () formed from an imprecise mold to remove any errors and imperfections thereon.

Mold for optical components

Apparatus and methods for drilling holes in a material with a laser are disclosed. An apparatus for drilling holes in a material with a laser includes a first steering element, a second steering element, and a lens. The first steering element is positioned to steer a beam from the laser. The second steering element is positioned to steer the beam from the first steering element. The lens focuses the beam from the second steering element. The first and second steering elements are configured to move with respect to the beam. Moving the first and second steering elements changes an angle of the beam where it contacts the material. The apparatus is operable to drill holes having no taper or reverse taper.

Apparatus and methods for drilling holes with no taper or reverse taper

A surface light emitting apparatus capable of providing uniform illumination while efficiently using a laser light. The apparatus comprises a light source section that includes at least one light source which emits laser beam; an optical element section that includes at least one diffractive optical element section that modifies a wavefront of the laser beam emitted from the light source section by diffraction action; and an optical guiding section that guides from an incidence surface of the optical guiding section the laser beam emitted from the diffraction optical section and emits the laser beam from a radiation surface of the optical guiding section.

Surface light emitting apparatus emitting laser light

A surface light emitting apparatus capable of providing uniform illumination while efficiently using a laser light. The apparatus comprises a light source section that includes at least one light source which emits laser beam; an optical guiding section that guides from an incidence surface of the optical guiding section the laser beam emitted from the light source section and emits the laser beam from a radiation surface of the optical guiding section; and an optical element section that includes at least one beam shaping optical element with a powered surface which converts an intensity distribution of the laser beam emitted from the light source section at the incidence surface of the optical guiding section to a uniform intensity distribution.

A precision machining system with a variable projected machining width of the cutting surface of the machining tool, including: a workpiece holder to hold a workpiece; a machining tool holder to hold the machining tool such that the Z axis is substantially parallel to the tool's centerline; a Z translation stage and an X translation stage each coupled to one of the workpiece holder or the machining tool holder; a workpiece spindle coupled to the workpiece holder to rotate the workpiece about the workpiece axis that is parallel to the Z axis; a machining path controller electrically coupled to the X translation stage and the workpiece spindle; and a tool spindle coupled to the machining tool holder. The tool spindle rotates the machining tool about the centerline of the machining tool, which varies the width of the cutting surface of the machining tool projected perpendicular to the machining path.

Precision machining system and methods

The present invention is a method of selecting composite sheet materials for use in ultra-fast laser patterning of layers of organic thin film material such as OLEDs. The material is selected to accomplish patterning of upper layers without damaging underlying layers by using an ultra-fast laser programmed with the appropriate laser processing parameters. These parameters are derived by examining each layer's absorption spectra, thermal, and chemical characteristics. The method of the present invention includes measuring each layer's absorption spectrum, examining each layer's thermal and chemical characteristics, determining if the layer is ablatable, determining the laser setup, patterning the layer through laser ablation processing, and determining if more layers need to be ablated. Further, the method includes a sub-method of selecting an alternate material if a layer's material characteristics are not favorable for ablation without damaging underlying layers.

Composite sheet material selection method for use in ultra-fast laser patterning

A method for forming a via in a sapphire substrate with a laser machining system that includes an ultrafast pulsed laser source. The sapphire substrate is provided. Pulses of laser light are substantially focused to a beam spot on the first surface of the sapphire substrate such that each focused pulse of laser light ablates a volume of the sapphire substrate having a depth less than the substrate thickness. The beam spot of the focused laser light pulses is scanned over a via portion of the first surface of the sapphire substrate. The sapphire substrate is moved in a direction substantially normal to the first surface to control the volume of the sapphire substrate ablated by each pulse of laser light to be substantially constant. The pulsing and scanning steps are repeated until the via is formed extending from the first surface to the second surface of the sapphire substrate.

Via hole machining for microwave monolithic integrated circuits

A machining tool with a cutting surface adapted to provide a variable projected machining width during machining, including the cutting surface and a back surface. The cutting surface includes a first cutting edge and a second cutting edge that extend to a tip of the machining tool and a cross section normal to a centerline of the machining tool that is concave between the first cutting edge and the second cutting edge. The back surface forms a first acute angle with the cutting surface at the first cutting edge and a second acute angle with the cutting surface at the second cutting edge, such that the cross section of the back surface normal to the centerline of the machining tool is convex between the first cutting edge and the second cutting edge.

Machining tools having concave cutting surfaces for precision machining and methods of manufacturing such

A multicore optical fiber with an integral diffractive element. The multicore optical fiber includes: a first optical fiber core formed of a non-photosensitive material having an initial index of refraction; and a second optical fiber core including a second longitudinal core axis substantially parallel to the first longitudinal axis. The first optical fiber core includes: a first longitudinal core axis; and a number of index-altered portions having an altered index of refraction which is different from the initial index of refraction. The index-altered portions are arranged within the non-photosensitive material of the first optical fiber core to form a diffractive structure of the integral diffractive element.

Multicore optical fiber with integral diffractive elements machined by ultrafast laser direct writing

An ultrafast laser machining system and method to form diffractive structures in optical fibers. The fiber is mounted with its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the beam path of the laser pulses. A region of the fiber is illuminated and then imaged with two cameras. These cameras are aligned substantially orthogonally. A position of the beam spot is determined. The beam spot is aligned to a starting position within the region. This position is within a portion of the fiber to be machined for which the beam path passes through the greatest length of material. The beam spot is scanned along a path designed to pass the beam spot through all of the portion to be machined such that the beam path does not pass through previously machined material. The laser pulses, which have a duration of less than about 1 ns, are generated as the beam spot is scanned.

Ultrafast laser machining system and method for forming diffractive structures in optical fibers

A vibration machining apparatus and method of use. The vibration machining apparatus includes a cutting tool and a motion stage coupled to one of the cutting tool or the workpiece to move the cutting tool relative to the workpiece. A tangent to a machine path and a normal to the surface of the workpiece define a vibration plane. The vibration machining apparatus further includes a first vibrating unit coupled to one of the cutting tool or the workpiece to vibrate it along a first vibrational direction, substantially in the vibration plane, and a second vibrating unit coupled with one of the cutting tool or the workpiece to vibrate the one of the cutting tool or the workpiece coupled to the second vibrating unit along a second vibrational direction, different from the first direction and substantially in the vibration plane.

Method and apparatus for vibration machining with two independent axes

A slab laser amplifier with parasitic oscillation suppression has a plurality of angled pump faces related to one another in order to decrease likelihood of parasitic oscillations, with internal beam incidence angles at total internal reflection that alleviate need for reflective coatings. No polished surfaces of gain material comprising the amplifier are parallel to one another. A beam path within the gain material is such that all incident angles of the beam path upon the two main faces and the common end face are greater than a critical angle required for total internal reflection, thereby alleviating need for reflective coatings. Based on an index of refraction of the gain material, and based on a diameter of the laser beam, dimensions of the gain material are selected to maximize beam overlap in a pumped volume of the gain material.

Slab laser amplifier with parasitic oscillation suppression

An apparatus and method for making a grayscale photo mask and a three-dimensional grayscale diffractive optical element operate as follows. A grayscale photo mask is obtained by exposing a laser direct write (LDW) glass material to laser beam radiation from a first laser beam of modulated power moved over a grid of discrete locations on the LDW material, the modulated power being in accordance with grayscale pattern data, and, while the first laser beam is moved over the discrete locations of the grid, exposing the grid to a second laser beam, the power of the second laser beam being less than the bleach threshold of the glass material, to provide each of the discrete locations with a gray scale level to provide a predetermined gray scale pattern of varying optical transmissivity on the LDW material to produce a grayscale mask. An optical element is obtained by exposing a photoresist layer on a wafer to radiation transmitted through the grayscale mask; and removing material from the photoresist layer to provide a predetermined varying thickness of the photoresist layer as determined by the gray scale patterns on the grayscale mask to produce the three-dimensional grayscale diffractive optical element. The optical element may be a diffraction grating. The power of the second laser exposed on said discrete locations may be between about 50 mW and about 5 W, and the power of the first laser exposed on the discrete locations may be between about 20 mW and about 500 mW.

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Acton, MA, United States of America

Xinbing Liu