Method and signal generator for producing a control signal for an acousto-optical element

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11022787-B2
Application number	US-201816226668-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2018
Priority date	Dec 22, 2017
Publication date	Jun 1, 2021
Grant date	Jun 1, 2021

Abstract

A method for generating a control signal for an acousto-optical element includes generating a raw signal using at least one correction term by an IQ modulation from a target I component and a target Q component, and amplifying the raw signal to become the control signal. The target I component and/or the target Q component are corrected using the at least one correction term. The at least one correction term is obtained from an analysis of the control signal.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for generating a control signal for an acousto-optical element, the method comprising:
generating a digital raw signal using at least one correction term by an IQ modulation from a target I component and a target Q component; and
amplifying the digital raw signal to become the control signal,
wherein the target I component and/or the target Q component are corrected using the at least one correction term, and
wherein the at least one correction term is obtained from an analysis of the control signal.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the analysis of the control signal comprises performing an IQ demodulation so as to obtain an actual I component and an actual Q component, wherein the at least one correction term is determined from a comparison of the actual I component with the target I component, and/or from a comparison of the actual Q component with the target Q component.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the IQ demodulation comprises a complex Fourier transform and a coordinate transformation.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the acousto-optical element is controlled with the control signal.

5. A signal generator for controlling an acousto-optical element, the signal generator being configured to execute the method according to claim 1 .

6. An arrangement comprising the signal generator according to claim 5 and the acousto-optical element.

7. The arrangement according to claim 6 , wherein the acousto-optical element is selected from the group consisting of an acousto-optically tunable filter, an acousto-optical modulator, an acousto-optical deflector, an acousto-optical beam splitter, and an acousto-optical beam combiner.

8. A microscope comprising the arrangement according to claim 6 .

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the digital raw signal is generated by modulating two baseband signals I and Q that are corrected using the at least one correction term onto a carrier signal having a carrier frequency.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the carrier frequency is predetermined based on a frequency spectrum of the acousto-optical element.

11. A method for generating a control signal for an acousto-optical element, the method comprising:
pre-distorting a raw signal by a correction function; and
amplifying the raw signal to become a triggering signal according to a transfer function,
wherein the correction function is obtained by amplifying a reference signal according to the transfer function to become an amplified reference signal, wherein the transfer function is approximated as a polynomial with coefficients, and the amplified reference signal is compared with the reference signal.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the transfer function is determined from the comparison of the amplified reference signal with the reference signal.

13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the coefficients of the polynomial are determined from the amplified reference signal by a Fourier transform.

14. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the correction function is obtained from the inverse transfer function.

15. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the polynomial is of the third degree.

Assignees

• Leica Microsystems

Inventors

• Mrawek Patric
• Koester Thorsten

Classifications

• G02F1/11

  based on acousto-optical elements, e.g. using variable diffraction by sound or like mechanical waves (acousto-optical deflection G02F1/33) · CPC title

• G02B21/0032

  Optical details of illumination, e.g. light-sources, pinholes, beam splitters, slits, fibers (G02B21/0036 - G02B21/008; means for illumination of specimens in general G02B21/06) · CPC title

• G02F2203/58

  Multi-wavelength, e.g. operation of the device at a plurality of wavelengths · CPC title

• G02F1/33

  Acousto-optical deflection devices {(circuit or control arrangements therefor G02F1/113)} · CPC title

• H03C1/52

  Modulators in which carrier or one sideband is wholly or partially suppressed (H03C1/28 - H03C1/34, H03C1/46, H03C1/48 take precedence) · CPC title