Apparatus for forming line beam

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12339464-B2
Application number	US-202017092669-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 9, 2020
Priority date	Apr 23, 2020
Publication date	Jun 24, 2025
Grant date	Jun 24, 2025

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for forming a line beam. The apparatus includes a laser source, a telescope unit, a beam-transforming unit, a Fourier unit, a long-axis optical unit, and a short-axis optical unit. The laser source is configured to generate input light. The telescope unit is configured to magnify the input light in an X-axis direction perpendicular to an optical axis, which is a progression direction of the input light. The beam-transforming unit is configured to divide light incident from the telescope unit into a plurality of sub-columns. The Fourier unit is configured to uniformly mix the plurality of sub-columns. The long-axis optical unit is configured to uniformly disperse light mixed by the Fourier unit in the X-axis direction. The short-axis optical unit is configured to focus light passing through the long-axis optical unit onto a reference plane, wherein the short-axis optical unit includes a concave reflective surface, and a curvature of the reflective surface is maintained constant in the X-axis direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for forming a line beam, the apparatus comprising:
a laser source configured to generate input light;
a telescope unit configured to magnify the input light in an X-axis direction perpendicular to an optical axis to produce magnified light, wherein the optical axis comprises a progression direction of the input light;
a beam-transforming unit configured to divide the magnified light from the telescope unit into a plurality of sub-columns;
a Fourier unit configured to uniformly mix the plurality of sub-columns to produce mixed light;
a long-axis optical unit configured to uniformly disperse the mixed light from the Fourier unit in the X-axis direction to produce dispersed light; and
a short-axis optical unit configured to focus the dispersed light from the long-axis optical unit onto a reference plane,
wherein the long-axis optical unit includes a pair of cylindrical lens arrays, a first cylindrical convex lens, and a second cylindrical convex lens in a linear arrangement with a same optical axis, wherein the pair of cylindrical lens arrays, the first cylindrical convex lens, and the second cylindrical convex lens are located before the short-axis optical unit in a travelling direction of the dispersed light,
wherein the short-axis optical unit includes a concave reflective surface, and wherein a curvature of the reflective surface is constant in the X-axis direction, and wherein the short-axis optical unit is rotatable with respect to an axis parallel to the X-axis direction.

2. An apparatus for forming a line beam, the apparatus comprising:
a laser source configured to generate input light with a Gaussian profile;
a telescope unit configured to magnify the input light in an X-axis direction perpendicular to an optical axis to produce magnified light, wherein the optical axis is a progression direction of the input light, and to reduce a width of the input light in a Y-axis direction perpendicular to the optical axis and the X-axis direction;
a beam-transforming unit configured to divide the magnified light from the telescope unit into a plurality of sub-columns;
a Fourier unit configured to uniformly mix the plurality of sub-columns to produce mixed light;
a long-axis optical unit configured to uniformly disperse the mixed light from the Fourier unit in the X-axis direction; and
a short-axis optical unit configured to reflect the mixed light from the long-axis optical unit and focus a flat-top line beam onto a reference plane, the flat-top line beam including a long axis in an X-axis direction and a short axis in a Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction,
wherein the short-axis optical unit includes a reflective surface configured to reflect the mixed light from the long-axis optical unit, a length of a long axis of the mixed light from the long-axis optical unit is equal to a length of a long axis of the flat-top line beam, and a width of a short axis of the mixed light from the long-axis optical unit is greater than a width of a short axis of the flat-top line beam,
wherein the short-axis optical unit is rotatable with respect to an axis parallel to the X-axis direction.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein a curvature of a cross-section of the reflective surface perpendicular to the X-axis direction is constant in a direction parallel to the X-axis direction.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the cross-section of the reflective surface includes a shape corresponding to at least one of a cylindrical surface, an aspherical surface, an elliptical surface, and a parabolic surface.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein a first portion of the cross-section of the reflective surface has a first curvature, and a second portion of the cross-section of the reflective surface has a second curvature.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the reflective surface includes a concave reflective surface with a cylindrical shape.

7. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the short-axis optical unit includes fused silica or glass ceramic.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the telescope unit includes a first lens and a second lens spaced apart from each other,
a concave surface of an incident surface of the first lens extends to cross a convex surface of an exit surface of the first lens, and
a convex surface of an incident surface of the second lens extends to cross a convex surface of an exit surface of the second lens.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the convex surface of the exit surface of the first lens extends in parallel to the convex surface of the incident surface of the second lens, and
the concave surface of the incident surface of the first lens extends in parallel to the convex surface of the exit surface of the second lens.

10. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of sub-columns are arranged in the X-axis direction, and
the beam-transforming unit rotates each of the plurality of sub-columns by about 90° with respect to the optical axis.

11. An apparatus for forming a line beam, the apparatus comprising:
a laser source configured to generate input light;
a telescope unit configured to magnify the input light in an X-axis direction perpendicular to an optical axis to produce magnified light, wherein the optical axis comprises a progression direction of the input light;
a beam-transforming unit configured to divide the magnified light from the telescope unit into a plurality of sub-columns;
a Fourier unit configured to uniformly mix the plurality of sub-columns to produce mixed light;
a long-axis optical unit configured to uniformly disperse the mixed light from the Fourier unit in the X-axis direction to produce dispersed light; and
a short-axis optical unit configured to focus the dispersed light from the long-axis optical unit onto a reference plane,
wherein the short-axis optical unit includes a concave reflective surface, wherein a curvature of the reflective surface is constant in the X-axis direction, and wherein the short-axis optical unit is rotatable with respect to an axis parallel to the X-axis direction.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the line beam includes a long axis in the X-axis direction and a short axis in a Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction, and
the short-axis optical unit is configured to reduce a short-axis width of the dispersed light from the long-axis optical unit.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the short-axis optical unit includes fused silica or glass ceramic.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein a cross-section of a concave reflective surface perpendicular to the X-axis direction comprises a cross-section of at least one of a cylindrical surface, an aspherical surface, an elliptical surface, and a parabolic surface.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein a first portion of the cross-section of the reflective surface has a first curvature, and a second portion of the cross-section of the reflective surface has a second curvature.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of sub-columns are arranged in the X-axis direction, and
the beam-transforming unit rotates each of the plurality of sub-columns by about 90° with respect to the optical axis.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the Fourier unit includes one cylindrical convex lens with a focal length of about 3000 mm to about 15000 mm.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the telescope unit includes a first lens and a second lens spaced apart from each other,
a concave surface of an incident surface of the first le

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Sangu Akifumi
• Ryu Jekil
• Park Cheolho
• Lee Haesook
• Chae Youngsu
• Han Gyoowan

Classifications

• B23K26/0738

  into a linear shape · CPC title

• B23K26/0648

  comprising lenses · CPC title

• H01S3/0071

  Beam steering, e.g. whereby a mirror outside the cavity is present to change the beam direction · CPC title

• H01S3/0085

  Modulating the output, i.e. the laser beam is modulated outside the laser cavity · CPC title

• B23K26/0676

  into dependently operating sub-beams, e.g. an array of spots with fixed spatial relationship or for performing simultaneously identical operations · CPC title