CN110554508A

CN110554508A - Light beam shaping device and light beam shaping method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN110554508A
Application number: CN201810542695.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张俊明; 徐超; 杨佳
Original assignee: Ningbo Sunny Opotech Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ningbo Sunny Opotech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-05-30
Filing date: 2018-05-30
Publication date: 2019-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 2038-05-30
Also published as: CN110554508B

Abstract

The invention discloses a light beam shaping device and a light beam shaping method thereof, wherein the light beam shaping device is used for shaping at least one laser beam, the laser beam is divided into a fast axis light beam and a slow axis light beam, the fast axis light beam has a fast axis divergence angle, the light beam shaping device comprises at least one collimating lens and at least one homogenizing unit array, a bus of the collimating lens is parallel to the slow axis of the laser beam, the collimating lens can reduce the fast axis divergence angle of the fast axis light beam of the laser beam, the bus of the homogenizing unit array is parallel to the fast axis of the laser beam, and the homogenizing unit array can enable the slow axis light beam to form uniform light spots.

Description

Light beam shaping device and light beam shaping method thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a beam shaping device, and more particularly, to a beam shaping device and a beam shaping method thereof.

Background

Semiconductor laser arrays have many advantages such as small, light in weight, light beam energy is concentrated, long life-span, high reliability, work efficiency height and compact structure, so widely used in many fields such as laser medical treatment, material processing and laser radar. However, the far field distribution of the laser beam emitted by the semiconductor laser generator array is elliptical Gaussian beam, the laser beam has different beam waist positions and sizes in the fast axis direction and the slow axis direction, thereby forming a beam in a fast axis direction and an astigmatic beam in a slow axis direction, the beam in the fast axis direction and the beam in the slow axis direction having different divergence angles, wherein the light beam in the fast axis direction is perpendicular to the p-n junction surface direction, the divergence angle of the light beam in the fast axis direction is large, the light beam in the slow axis direction is parallel to the p-n junction surface, the divergence angle is small, so that the laser beams emitted by the semiconductor laser array have asymmetry, low beam quality, in many applications, it is therefore necessary to shape the laser beam with a beam shaping device in order to improve the beam quality. In addition, the semiconductor laser array applied to the laser radar needs to collimate the laser beam in the fast axis direction and homogenize the laser beam in the slow axis direction in order to ensure that the laser radar can have high precision in the using process so as to realize sensitive information acquisition and to make the brightness of the laser beam uniform so as to reduce the damage to human eyes.

In the conventional beam shaping process, a fly-eye lens illumination system is usually used as the beam shaping device to homogenize the laser beam. Specifically, referring to fig. 1A and 1B of the specification, the fly-eye lens illumination system includes a single fly-eye illumination system including a collimating lens 10P, a fly-eye lens array 20P, a field lens 30P, and a focusing lens 40P, and a double fly-eye illumination system. The double fly-eye lens illumination system includes a collimating lens 10P, a first fly-eye lens array 20P, a second fly-eye lens array 50P, and a focusing lens 40P. Referring to fig. 1B of the specification, taking the embodiment of the double fly-eye lens illumination system as an example, the double fly-eye lens illumination system can shape a laser beam 100P to obtain a uniform spot distribution on an image plane 200P. Specifically, each laser light source emits a laser light beam 100P, the laser light sources are disposed at the focal point of the collimating lens 10P, the first fly-eye lens array 20P includes a plurality of first fly-eye lenses 201P, and the second fly-eye lens array 50P includes a plurality of second fly-eye lenses 501P, the center of each second fly-eye lens 501P is located at the focal point of the first fly-eye lens 201P, and the image plane 200P is located at the focal plane of the focusing lens 40P. The laser light beam 100P is collimated by the collimating lens 10P, the collimated laser light beam 100P passes through the first fly-eye lens array 20P and then is focused to the center of the second fly-eye lens array 50P, that is, the first fly-eye lens array 20P forms a plurality of light sources from the laser light beam 100P, and the second fly-eye lens 501P of the second fly-eye lens array 50P superposes and images the laser light beam 100P passing through the corresponding first fly-eye lens 201P on the image plane 200P. Since the first fly-eye lens 20P divides the laser beam 100P into a plurality of beamlets, and the tiny non-uniformities in the range of each beamlet can be overlapped by the beamlets in the symmetrical positions, the tiny non-uniformities of the beamlets are compensated in the process of overlapping each other, so that the light energy of the laser beam 100P is effectively and uniformly utilized. The laser beams 100P emitted from the second fly-eye lens array 50P are focused on the image plane 200P through the condenser lens 40P, each point of a spot on the image plane 200P is irradiated by the laser beam 100P emitted by each of the laser light sources, and simultaneously, the laser beams 100P emitted by each of the laser light sources are overlapped in the same field range on the spot 104P, so that a uniform spot 104P is obtained. In other words, after the laser beam 100P emitted by each laser light source passes through the first fly-eye lens array 20P and the second fly-eye lens array 50P, the laser beam is split into a plurality of beams according to the number of the first fly-eye lenses 201P and the second fly-eye lenses 501P, and each of the first fly-eye lenses 201P and the second fly-eye lenses 501P forms an image of the laser light source independently, so as to form a plurality of images of the laser light source, which are defined as secondary light sources, and after the secondary light sources continue to pass through the condenser lens 40P, the secondary light sources are mutually overlapped and inverted on the image plane 200P, so as to compensate each other, and thus a relatively uniform light spot 104P is obtained. However, the fly-eye lens illumination system still has many problems in practical application.

First, in the process of completing beam shaping, the fly-eye lens illumination system requires a large number of lenses, laser energy is lost when the laser beam 100P passes through the lenses, and the larger the number of lenses, the greater the loss degree of the laser beam 100P, so that the fly-eye lens illumination system reduces the beam quality of the laser beam 100P.

Secondly, as the number of the laser light sources increases, in the single fly-eye lens illumination system, the sizes of the focusing lens 40P and the field lens 30P need to be increased continuously, and in the double fly-eye lens illumination system, as the number of the laser light sources 100P increases, the size of the focusing lens 40P also needs to be increased, so that the imaging effect of the light beams at the edges of the focusing lens 40P and the field lens 30P is poor, the uniformity of the whole light spot is reduced, and the beam quality of the laser light beam 100P is affected.

In addition, referring to fig. 1C and 1D, the laser beam 100P passing through the fly-eye lens illumination system can obtain a uniform spot 104P on the image plane 200P only when it reaches a fixed distance, and the spots 104P at the positions before and after the image plane 200P are extremely uneven, so that the position of the image plane 200P must be set at a fixed position to obtain a uniform spot, that is, the laser beam 100P having uniform brightness can be obtained, thereby reducing the flexibility of the fly-eye lens illumination system.

In addition, the beam shaping device applied to the laser radar needs to work in cooperation with an MEMS galvanometer, and the laser beam 100P passing through the beam shaping device enters a mirror of the MEMS galvanometer, is reflected by the mirror, and then enters a following optical element, that is, the mirror of the MEMS galvanometer is the image plane 200P of the laser beam 100P passing through the beam shaping device. However, in an actual operation process, the mirror of the MEMS galvanometer may be driven to vibrate or rotate at a high speed to change a scanning range of the laser radar, and if the beam shaping device is implemented as the fly-eye lens system, the position of the image plane 200P of the fly-eye lens illumination system is inevitably changed, and the uniformity of the laser beam 100P is also inevitably damaged, so that the fly-eye lens illumination system cannot be applied to the laser radar in cooperation with the MEMS galvanometer.

disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping apparatus and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping apparatus is capable of shaping at least one laser beam, thereby improving beam quality.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping apparatus and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping apparatus collimates the laser beam, so that the laser beam has a high degree of collimation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping device and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping device homogenizes the laser beam to form a light spot with uniform brightness.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping device and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping device shapes the laser beam into a beam with a higher collimation degree in a fast axis direction and shapes the laser beam into a linear uniform beam with a certain angle divergence in a slow axis direction.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping apparatus and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping apparatus includes a collimating lens, and the collimating lens collimates the laser beam in the fast axis direction, so that a fast axis divergence angle of the laser beam in the fast axis direction is reduced, thereby improving collimation of the laser beam.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping device and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping device includes at least one homogenizing unit array, wherein the homogenizing unit array includes at least one homogenizing unit, and the laser beams passing through the homogenizing unit array can form homogenized light spots and are directly superimposed on an image plane, so that the whole light spots are uniformly distributed.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping device and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein each of the homogenizing units corresponds to each of the laser light sources one-to-one, and the number of the homogenizing units is increased to satisfy the requirement of homogenizing different numbers of the laser light beams, so that the applicability is strong.

another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping apparatus and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the position of the homogenizing unit array is not limited, thereby improving the flexibility of the beam shaping apparatus and having strong applicability.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping device and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping device can homogenize the light spot of the laser beam passing through the beam shaping device at any position, so that the brightness of the light spot appearing on the image plane is not limited by the position, thereby improving the flexibility of the beam shaping device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping device and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping device enables uniform light spots to be obtained on the image plane at any position, so that the beam shaping device can be applied to a laser radar in cooperation with an MEMS galvanometer.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping apparatus and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the positions of the homogenizing unit array and the collimating lens are not limited, and the positions of the homogenizing unit array and the collimating lens can be exchanged with each other, so that the laser beam can be shaped into a collimated beam in the fast axis direction and a linear uniform beam diverging at a certain angle in the slow axis direction, thereby achieving high flexibility.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping apparatus and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping apparatus can improve the homogenization effect by increasing the number of the homogenization unit arrays, thereby improving the quality of the laser beam.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping apparatus and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping apparatus uses less optical lenses, and reduces the energy loss of the laser beam during the emission process, so as to improve the quality of the laser beam.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping apparatus and a beam shaping method thereof, in which the beam shaping apparatus reduces the use of optical lenses, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping apparatus and a beam shaping method thereof, in which the beam shaping apparatus reduces the use of optical lenses, thereby reducing the volume of the beam shaping apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beam shaping device and a beam shaping method thereof, wherein the beam shaping device includes a detection element, and the detection element can be used to detect the shaping effect of the laser beam, so that a user can visually observe the shaping effect of the laser beam.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a beam shaping device for shaping at least one laser beam, the laser beam being split into a fast axis beam and a slow axis beam, wherein the fast axis beam has a fast axis divergence angle and the slow axis beam has a slow axis divergence angle, the beam shaping device comprising:

At least one collimating lens, a generatrix of the collimating lens being parallel to a slow axis of the laser beam, the collimating lens being capable of reducing the fast axis divergence angle of the fast axis beam of the laser beam; and

The bus of the homogenizing unit array is parallel to the fast axis of the laser beam, and the homogenizing unit array can enable the slow axis beam to form a uniform light spot.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the beam shaping device has an object side and an image side, and the collimating lens and the homogenizing unit array of the beam shaping device are disposed between the object side and the image side at an interval.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the homogenization unit array includes a first micro-cylinder array and at least a second micro-cylinder array, the first micro-cylinder array compresses the laser beam, the second micro-cylinder array homogenizes the laser beam, and the first micro-cylinder array, the collimating lens and the second micro-cylinder array are disposed between the object side and the image side at intervals.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the collimating lens is disposed between the first micro-cylinder array and the second micro-cylinder array.

according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first micro-cylinder array, the collimating lens and the second micro-cylinder array are sequentially disposed from the object side to the image side.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second micro-cylinder array is disposed between the first micro-cylinder array and the collimating lens.

according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first micro-cylinder array, the second micro-cylinder array and the collimating lens are disposed in order from the object side to the image side.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the homogenizing unit array includes a second micro-cylinder array capable of homogenizing the laser beam, and the second micro-cylinder array and the collimating lens are disposed between the object side and the image side at an interval.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the collimating lens and the second micro-cylinder array are disposed in order from the object side to the image side.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second micro-cylinder array and the collimating lens are disposed in order from the object side to the image side.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first micro-cylinder array includes a plurality of first micro-cylinders, and each of the first micro-cylinders has a second light incident surface and a second light emitting surface opposite to the second light incident surface, wherein the second light incident surface is a convex surface, and the second light emitting surface is a plane; or the second light incident surface is a plane, and the second light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the second light incident surface is a plane, and the second light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the second light incident surface is a concave surface, and the second light emergent surface is a plane; or the second light incident surface is a convex surface, and the second light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the second light incident surface is a convex surface, and the second light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the second light incident surface is a concave surface, and the second light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the second light incident surface is a concave surface, and the second light emergent surface is a convex surface.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second micro cylinder array includes a plurality of second micro cylinders, and the second micro cylinders have a third light incident surface and a third light emitting surface opposite to the third light incident surface, wherein the third light incident surface is a convex surface, and the third light emitting surface is a plane; or the third light incident surface is a plane, and the third light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the third light incident surface is a plane, and the third light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the third light incident surface is a concave surface, and the third light emergent surface is a plane; or the third light incident surface is a convex surface, and the third light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the third light incident surface is a convex surface, and the third light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the third light incident surface is a concave surface, and the third light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the third light incident surface is a concave surface, and the third light emergent surface is a convex surface.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the collimating lens is an aspheric cylindrical lens.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the collimating lens is a spherical cylindrical lens.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the collimating lens has a first light incident surface and a first light emitting surface opposite to the first light incident surface, the first light incident surface is a convex surface, and the first light emitting surface is a plane; or the first light incident surface is a plane, and the first light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the first light incident surface is a concave surface, and the first light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the first light incident surface is a convex surface, and the first light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the first light incident surface is a concave surface, and the first light emergent surface is a plane; or the first light incident surface plane, the first light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the first light incident surface is a convex surface, and the first light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the first light incident surface is a concave surface, and the first light emergent surface is a concave surface.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the beam shaping apparatus further includes a detection element, the collimating lens, the homogenizing unit array and the detection element are disposed between the object side and the image side at intervals, the detection element is disposed closest to the image side relative to the collimating lens and the homogenizing unit array, and the detection element is capable of detecting the laser beam passing through the collimating lens and the homogenizing unit array.

In another aspect of the present invention, a beam shaping method of a beam shaping apparatus, the beam shaping method includes:

(a) Collimating a fast axis beam of a laser beam by at least one collimating lens; and

(b) Homogenizing a slow axis beam of the laser beam by at least one homogenizing unit array.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the step (b) further comprises the steps of:

(b1) Compressing the laser beam by the first micro-cylindrical mirror array of a homogenization unit array; and (b2) homogenizing the laser beam by the second micro-cylindrical mirror array of the homogenization unit array.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the laser beam sequentially passes through a first micro-cylinder array, the collimating lens and the second micro-cylinder array of the homogenizing unit array.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the step (b) further comprises the steps of: homogenizing the laser beam by the second micro-cylindrical mirror array of the homogenization unit array.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the laser beam sequentially passes through the collimating lens and the second micro-cylinder array of the homogenizing unit array.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the laser beam sequentially passes through the second micro-cylinder array of the homogenization unit array and the collimating lens.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the laser beam sequentially passes through the first micro-cylinder array, at least one second micro-cylinder array and the collimating lens.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the laser beam sequentially passes through the first micro-cylinder array, the collimating lens and at least one second micro-cylinder array of the homogenizing unit array.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of a single compound eye illumination system.

Fig. 1B is a schematic structural diagram of a compound eye illumination system.

Fig. 1C is a schematic diagram showing the brightness of a spot formed by a laser beam passing through a compound eye illumination system at a position in front of and behind an image plane.

Fig. 1D is a schematic diagram of the brightness of a spot formed on the image plane by a laser beam passing through a compound eye illumination system.

Fig. 2A is a schematic structural diagram of a beam shaping apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2B shows a homogenized light spot formed on the image plane by the laser beam passing through the beam shaping device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the homogenized light spot in the far field presents a uniform linear distribution.

Fig. 3A is a schematic diagram of the beam shaping apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the process of collimating the fast axis beam.

Fig. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating the process of homogenizing the slow-axis beam by the homogenizing unit of the beam shaping device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3C is a schematic diagram illustrating the process of homogenizing the slow-axis beam by the homogenizing unit array of the beam shaping apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3D is a schematic diagram illustrating the process of homogenizing the slow-axis beam by the homogenizing unit array of the beam shaping apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an angular variation of the fast axis divergence angle of the fast axis beam of the laser beam passing through the beam shaping device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4B is a schematic diagram of the brightness variation of the slow axis beam of the laser beam passing through the beam shaping device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the brightness variation of the slow axis beam of the laser beam passing through the beam shaping device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention at any position.

Fig. 6A to 6G are schematic diagrams illustrating different embodiments of the collimating lens of the beam shaping device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7A to 7C are schematic diagrams of different embodiments of the homogenizing unit array of the beam shaping apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8A is a schematic structural diagram of the beam shaping apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8B is a schematic structural diagram of a beam shaping apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8C is a schematic structural diagram of the beam shaping apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8D is a schematic structural diagram of the beam shaping apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8E is a schematic structural diagram of the beam shaping apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The following description is presented to disclose the invention so as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention. The preferred embodiments in the following description are given by way of example only, and other obvious variations will occur to those skilled in the art. The basic principles of the invention, as defined in the following description, may be applied to other embodiments, variations, modifications, equivalents, and other technical solutions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that in the present disclosure, the terms "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like are used in an orientation or positional relationship indicated in the drawings for ease of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the referenced devices or components must be constructed and operated in a particular orientation and thus are not to be considered limiting.

it is understood that the terms "a" and "an" should be interpreted as meaning that a number of one element or element is one in one embodiment, while a number of other elements is one in another embodiment, and the terms "a" and "an" should not be interpreted as limiting the number.

Referring to fig. 2A to 5 of the specification, a beam shaping apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in the following description, wherein the beam shaping apparatus is capable of shaping a laser beam 100, collimating a beam 101 in a fast axis direction of the laser beam 100, and homogenizing a beam 102 in a slow axis direction of the laser beam 100, thereby improving beam quality of the laser beam 100, so that spots obtained on an image plane 200 can be uniformly distributed. When the beam shaping device is applied to a laser radar, the damage of the laser beam 100 to human eyes can be reduced, and more sensitive information acquisition can be realized. In the following description, the light beam 101 in the fast axis direction is simply referred to as the fast axis light beam 101, and the light beam 102 in the slow axis direction is simply referred to as the slow axis light beam 102.

Specifically, referring to fig. 2A, each of the laser beams 100 is emitted through a laser light source 1000, and in this embodiment of the present invention, the laser light source 1000 is implemented as a semiconductor laser array including a plurality of semiconductor lasers. The laser beam 100 emitted by the laser source 1000 includes the fast axis beam 101 and the slow axis beam 102, wherein the fast axis beam 101 has a fast axis divergence angle α and the slow axis beam 102 has a slow axis divergence angle β. In the drawings, the fast axis of the laser beam 100 is defined as the X axis, and the slow axis is defined as the Y axis. Typically, the angular range of the fast axis divergence angle α is: 20 ° to 40 °, the slow axis divergence angle β being in the angular range: 6 to 15. It should be noted that the type of the laser light source 1000 is not limited, and the laser light source 1000 may also be implemented as a single laser, a plurality of lasers, a laser array, a laser area array, or the like.

Further, referring to fig. 2A and fig. 3A, the beam shaping device includes at least one collimating lens 10, wherein a generatrix of the collimating lens 10 is parallel to a slow axis of the laser beam 100, and the collimating lens 10 can collimate the fast axis beam 101 of the laser beam 100, so as to improve the collimation of the fast axis beam 101. Specifically, after the laser beam 100 passes through the collimating lens 10, the fast-axis divergence angle α of the fast-axis beam 101 is reduced, so that the fast-axis beam 101 has a higher degree of collimation.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, referring to fig. 2A and 2B of the specification, the beam shaping apparatus further comprises at least one homogenizing unit array 20, wherein the homogenizing unit array 20 is capable of homogenizing the slow axis beam 102 of the laser beam 100 to form a homogenizing spot 104, so that the laser beam 100 is shaped into a linear uniform beam with a certain angle divergence in the slow axis direction.

Further, referring to fig. 3B and 3C, the homogenizing unit array 20 includes a plurality of homogenizing units 21. It is worth mentioning that when the laser light source 1000 is a single light source, the number of the homogenizing units 21 is implemented as one, and the laser beam 100 passing through the homogenizing unit 21 can form the homogenizing spot 104, referring to fig. 3B. And, the number of the homogenizing units 21 increases as the number of the laser light sources 1000 increases. In other words, each of the laser light sources 1000 corresponds to the number of the homogenizing units 21, the laser beams 100 passing through the homogenizing units 21 are shaped into homogenizing spots 104, and the homogenizing spots 104 generated by the homogenized laser beams 100 are superposed on the image plane 200, so that the overall spots formed on the image plane 200 are uniformly distributed.

Further, referring to fig. 3B and 3C, the homogenizing unit 21 includes a first micro-cylinder 211 and a second micro-cylinder 212, and the generatrix of each of the first micro-cylinder 211 and the second micro-cylinder 212 is parallel to the fast axis of the laser beam 100. The first micro-cylinder 211 can compress the laser beam 100, and the second micro-cylinder 212 can homogenize the laser beam 100. Further, the homogenization unit array 20 comprises a first micro-cylinder array 22 and a second micro-cylinder array 23, wherein the first micro-cylinder array 22 comprises a plurality of the first micro-cylinders 211, and the second micro-cylinder array 23 comprises a plurality of the second micro-cylinders 212. The generatrix of the first micro-cylinder array 22 and the second micro-cylinder array 23 is parallel to the fast axis of the laser beam 100. The first micro-cylindrical mirror array 22 compresses the laser beam 100, and the second micro-cylindrical mirror array 23 homogenizes the laser beam 100 to obtain the homogenized light spot 104 on the image plane 200.

further, referring to fig. 2A, the beam shaping apparatus has an object side 300 and an image side 400, the object side 300 is the side facing the laser source 1000, the image side 400 is the side facing the image plane 200, and the homogenizing unit array 20 and the collimating lens 10 are disposed between the object side 300 and the image side 400 at an interval.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first micro-cylinder array 22, the collimating lens 10 and the second micro-cylinder array 23 are sequentially disposed from the object side 300 to the image side 400. That is, the first micro-cylinder array 22, the collimating lens 10 and the second micro-cylinder array 23 are disposed between the object side 300 and the image side 400 at intervals, the collimating lens 10 is disposed between the first micro-cylinder array 22 and the second micro-cylinder array 23, the laser beam 100 sequentially passes through the first micro-cylinder array 22, the collimating lens 10 and the second micro-cylinder array 23, the first micro-cylinder array 22 compresses the laser beam 100, the compressed laser beam 100 is incident to the collimating lens 10, the collimating lens 10 reduces the fast axis divergence angle α of the fast axis beam 101 of the laser beam 100, so as to improve the collimation degree of the fast axis beam 101, the laser beam 100 after passing through the collimating lens 10 is incident to the second micro-cylinder array 23, the second micro-cylindrical mirror array 23 homogenizes the laser beam 100 to obtain the homogenized light spot 104 on the image plane 200, and makes the far-field light spots present a uniform linear distribution.

For example, in this specific embodiment of the beam shaping device of the present invention, the laser light source 1000 is implemented as a 10 × 3 semiconductor laser array, and the slow axis divergence angle of the slow axis beam 102 of the laser beam 100 emitted by the laser light source 100 is 6.5 °, the fast axis divergence angle α of the fast axis beam 101 is 22.5 °, the laser beam 100 passes through the first micro-cylinder array 22 first, and the first micro-cylinder array 22 compresses the laser beam 100, the compressed laser beam 100 is incident to the collimating lens 10, the collimating lens 10 reduces the fast axis divergence angle α of the fast axis beam 101 of the laser beam 100, the reduced fast axis divergence angle α is 0.13 ° or less, so that the fast axis beam 101 has a higher collimation degree, refer to fig. 4A. After passing through the collimating lens 10, the laser beam 100 is incident to the second micro-cylinder array 23, and the second micro-cylinder array 23 homogenizes the slow-axis beam 102 of the laser beam 100 to form a linear uniform beam with uniform light intensity and a certain angle of divergence, and further, the slow-axis beam 102 is homogenized into a linear uniform beam with a slow-axis divergence angle β of 24 °. Referring to fig. 4B, the laser beam 100P passing through the beam shaper has uniform brightness, so that damage to human eyes can be reduced.

It is worth mentioning that, referring to fig. 5, the laser beam 100 passing through the beam shaping device can form the homogenization spot 104 at any position. That is, the position of the image plane 200P is not limited, so that the beam shaping apparatus is suitable for a laser radar and can complete a scanning operation in cooperation with a MEMS galvanometer.

Further, the collimating lens 10 has a first light incident surface 11 and a first light emitting surface 12. In this particular embodiment of the invention, the collimator lens 10 is implemented as an aspherical cylindrical lens. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the collimating lens 10 may also be implemented as a spherical lens. Preferably, referring to fig. 3A in the present disclosure, the first light incident surface 11 of the collimating lens 10 is a convex surface, the first light emitting surface 12 is a convex surface, the first light incident surface 11 of the collimating lens 10 faces the object side 300, and the first light emitting surface 12 faces the image side 400.

Referring to fig. 6A to 6G of the present specification, various embodiments of the collimating lens 10 of the light velocity shaping device according to the present invention are shown. Referring to fig. 6A, the first light incident surface 11 of the collimating lens 10 is a convex surface, and the first light emitting surface 12 is a plane. Referring to fig. 6B, the first light incident surface 11 of the collimating lens 10 is a plane, and the first light emitting surface 12 is a convex surface. Referring to fig. 6C, the first light incident surface 11 of the collimating lens 10 is a concave surface, and the first light emitting surface 12 is a convex surface. Referring to fig. 6D, the first light incident surface 11 of the collimating lens 10 is a convex surface, and the first light emitting surface 12 is a concave surface. Referring to fig. 6E, the first light incident surface 11 of the collimating lens 10 is a concave surface, and the first light emitting surface 12 is a plane surface. Referring to fig. 6F, the first light incident surface 11 of the collimating lens 10 is a plane, and the first light emitting surface 12 is a concave surface. Referring to fig. 6G, the first light incident surface 11 of the collimating lens 10 is a concave surface, and the first light emitting surface 12 is a concave surface. It should be noted that, as those skilled in the art should understand, the embodiment of the collimating lens 10 is only an example, and cannot limit the content and scope of the beam shaping device of the present invention, and the collimating lens 10 may also be implemented such that the first light incident surface 11 is a convex surface, and the first light emitting surface 12 is a convex surface.

Further, each of the micro-cylindrical lenses 211 of the first micro-cylindrical lens array 22 has a second light incident surface 2111 and a second light emitting surface 2112. Each of the second micro-cylindrical lenses 212 of the second micro-cylindrical lens array 23 has a third light incident surface 2121 and a third light emitting surface 2122. The second incident surface 2111 of each of the first micro-pillars 211 faces the object side 300, the second emergent surface 2112 faces the image side 400, the third incident surface 2121 of each of the second micro-pillars 212 faces the object side 300, and the third emergent surface 2122 faces the image side 400. In this embodiment of the invention, referring to fig. 2A, the second light incident surface 2111 of each first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array 22 is a convex surface, the second light emitting surface 2112 is a plane surface, the third light incident surface 2121 of each second micro-cylinder 212 of the second micro-cylinder array 23 is a convex surface, and the third light emitting surface 2122 is a plane surface.

Referring to fig. 7A to 7C of the present specification, there are shown various embodiments of the first micro-cylinder array 22 and the second micro-cylinder array 23 of the light speed shaping device according to the present invention. Referring to fig. 7A, the second light incident surface 2111 of each first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array 22 is a convex surface, the second light emitting surface 2112 is a plane surface, the third light incident surface 2121 of each second micro-cylinder 212 of the second micro-cylinder array 23 is a plane surface, and the third light emitting surface 2122 is a concave surface. Referring to fig. 7B, the second light incident surface 2111 of each first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array 22 is a plane, the second light emitting surface 2112 is a convex surface, the third light incident surface 2121 of each second micro-cylinder 212 of the second micro-cylinder array 23 is a plane, and the third light emitting surface 2122 is a concave surface. Referring to fig. 7C, the second light incident surface 2111 of each first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array 22 is a plane, the second light emitting surface 2112 is a convex surface, the third light incident surface 2121 of each second micro-cylinder 212 of the second micro-cylinder array 23 is a concave surface, and the third light emitting surface 2122 is a plane.

optionally, each of the first micro-cylindrical lenses 211 of the first micro-cylindrical lens array may also be implemented such that the first light incident surface 2111 is a plane, and the second light emitting surface 2112 is a concave surface.

Optionally, the first light incident surface 2111 of each first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array is a concave surface, and the second light emitting surface 2112 is a plane.

Optionally, the first light incident surface 2111 of each first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array is a convex surface, and the second light emitting surface 2112 is a concave surface.

optionally, the first light incident surface 2111 of each first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array is a concave surface, and the second light emitting surface 2112 is a convex surface.

Optionally, the first light incident surface 2111 of each first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array is a convex surface, and the second light emitting surface 2112 is a convex surface.

Optionally, the first light incident surface 2111 of each first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array is a concave surface, and the second light emitting surface 2112 is a concave surface.

Optionally, the third light incident surface 2121 of each of the second micro-cylindrical lenses 212 of the second micro-cylindrical lens array 23 is a plane, and the third light emitting surface 2122 is a convex surface.

Optionally, the third light incident surface 2121 of each of the second micro-cylindrical lenses 212 of the second micro-cylindrical lens array 23 is a concave surface, and the third light emitting surface 2122 is a convex surface.

Optionally, the third light incident surface 2121 of each of the second micro-cylindrical lenses 212 of the second micro-cylindrical lens array 23 is a convex surface, and the third light emitting surface 2122 is a concave surface.

Optionally, the third light incident surface 2121 of each of the second micro-cylindrical lenses 212 of the second micro-cylindrical lens array 23 is a convex surface, and the third light emitting surface 2122 is a convex surface.

optionally, the third light incident surface 2121 of each of the second micro-cylindrical lenses 212 of the second micro-cylindrical lens array 23 is a concave surface, and the third light emitting surface 2122 is a concave surface.

It is worth mentioning that the lens types of the first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array 22 and the second micro-cylinder 212 of the second micro-cylinder array 23 may be combined with each other. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the specific embodiments of the first micro-cylinder 211 and the second micro-cylinder 212 are only examples and should not be construed as limiting the content and scope of the beam shaping apparatus of the present invention.

It should be noted that the lens types of the collimating lens 10, the first micro-cylinder 211 of the first micro-cylinder array 22, and the second micro-cylinder 212 of the second micro-cylinder array 23 can be arbitrarily matched, and the collimating lens can also collimate the fast-axis beam 101 of the laser beam 100 into a beam with higher collimation degree, and homogenize the slow-axis beam 102 to obtain a flat-top beam with uniform light spot.

Unlike the beam shaping apparatus shown in fig. 2A, in this modified embodiment of the beam shaping apparatus shown in fig. 8A and 8B, the beam shaping apparatus includes only the collimator lens 10 and the second micro-cylinder array 23, and the beam shaping apparatus is adapted to a case when the distance between the collimator lens 10 and the laser light source 1000 is short. That is, when the distance between the collimator lens 10 and the laser light source 1000 is short, the first micro-cylinder array 22 may be omitted. Referring to fig. 8A, the laser beam 100 emitted from the laser light source 1000 is incident on the collimating lens 10, the fast axis beam 101 of the laser beam 100 is collimated into a beam with a higher degree of collimation, the collimated laser beam 100 is incident on the second micro-cylinder array 23, and the second micro-cylinder array 23 homogenizes the slow axis beam of the laser beam to form a homogenized light spot. That is, the beam shaping apparatus reduces the number of optical lenses in the process of shaping the laser beam 100, thereby reducing the energy loss of the laser beam 100 in the emission process, improving the beam quality of the laser beam 100, reducing the volume of the beam shaping apparatus, and reducing the manufacturing cost.

It is worth mentioning that the position of the second micro-cylinder array 23 of the homogenization unit array 20 can be interchanged with the collimator lens 10. Referring to fig. 8B, the second micro-cylinder array 23 and the collimating lens 10 are arranged in order from the object side 300 to the image side 400. The laser beam 100 emitted from the laser light source 1000 is incident on the second micro-cylinder array 23, the second micro-cylinder array 23 homogenizes the slow-axis beam 102 of the laser beam 100, the homogenized laser beam 100 is incident on the collimating lens 10, and the collimating lens 10 reduces the fast-axis divergence angle α of the fast-axis beam 101 of the laser beam 100, thereby improving the collimation of the laser beam 100.

In addition, the positions of the first micro-cylinder array 22, the second micro-cylinder array 23 and the collimating lens 10 of the homogenization unit array 20 may be exchanged with each other. Referring to fig. 8C, the second micro-cylinder array 23 is disposed between the first micro-cylinder array 22 and the collimating lens 10. Further, the first micro-cylinder array 22, the second micro-cylinder array 23 and the collimating lens 10 are arranged in sequence from the object side 300 to the image side 400. The laser beam 100 emitted by the laser light source 1000 is incident on the first micro-cylinder array 22, the first micro-cylinder array 22 compresses the laser beam 100, the compressed laser beam 100 is incident on the second micro-cylinder array 23, the second micro-cylinder array 23 homogenizes the slow-axis beam 102 of the laser beam 100, the homogenized laser beam 100 is incident on the collimating lens 10, and the collimating lens 10 reduces the fast-axis divergence angle α of the fast-axis beam 101 of the laser beam 100, thereby improving the collimation of the laser beam 100.

It should be noted that the specific positions of the first micro-cylinder array 22, the second micro-cylinder array 23 and the collimating lens 10 of the homogenizing assembly array 20 are only used as examples and should not be construed as limiting the content and scope of the beam collimating apparatus of the present invention.

It should be noted that the beam shaping device may increase the number of the collimating lenses 10 according to the increase of the number of the laser light sources 1000, so that the laser light beams 1000 can be completely incident on the collimating lenses 10, thereby ensuring the beam quality of the laser light beams 100 after being shaped. Referring to fig. 8D, when the laser light source 1000 is implemented as two semiconductor laser arrays, the beam shaping device includes the homogenizing unit array 20 and two collimating lenses 10, the two collimating lenses 10 correspond to the two semiconductor laser arrays respectively, and the collimating lenses 10 are parallel to the slow axes of the laser beams 100 emitted by the semiconductor laser arrays respectively, wherein the collimating lenses 10 can collimate the incident laser beams 100 simultaneously. The specific number of collimating lenses 10 is merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the scope and content of the beam shaping device of the present invention.

Further, the beam shaping device may enhance the homogenization effect on the laser beam 100 by increasing the number of the second micro-cylinder array 23 of the homogenization unit array 20. Referring to fig. 8E of the specification, the specific number of the second micropillar arrays 23 of the homogenizing unit 20 is implemented as two, and the two second micropillar arrays 23 are parallel to each other. The laser beam 100 collimated by the collimating lens 10 sequentially passes through the two micro-cylindrical lens arrays, so that the laser beam 100 is homogenized twice, and more uniform light spots 104 are formed on the image plane 200, thereby further improving the beam quality of the laser beam 100. It should be noted that the specific number of the second micro-cylinder array 23 is only an example, and is not intended to limit the content and scope of the beam shaping apparatus of the present invention.

Optionally, the beam shaping apparatus further includes a detection element 30, the collimating lens 10, the homogenizing unit array 20 and the detection element 30 are disposed between the object side 300 and the image side 400 at intervals, and the detection element 20 is disposed closest to the image side 400 relative to the collimating lens 10 and the homogenizing unit array 20, and the detection element 30 can detect the shaped laser beam 100, so as to obtain the shaping effect of the laser beam 100. Specifically, the laser beam 100 passing through the collimating lens 10 and the homogenizing unit array 20 is incident to the detecting element 30, and the detecting element 30 detects parameters such as the fast axis divergence angle α of the fast axis beam 101 of the laser beam 100, the slow axis divergence angle β of the slow axis beam 102, and the brightness of a light spot, so as to evaluate and judge the shaping effect of the laser beam 100, so as to provide a reference and a suggestion for a user, so that the user can more intuitively know the effect of the beam shaping device and know specific parameters of the laser beam 1000 after being shaped.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a beam shaping method of a beam shaping apparatus, the beam shaping method comprising the steps of:

(a) Collimating a fast axis beam 101 of a laser beam 100 by at least one collimating lens 10; and (b) homogenizing a slow axis beam 102 of the laser beam 100 by at least one homogenizing unit array 20.

Specifically, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the laser beam 100 sequentially passes through a first micro-cylinder array 22, the collimating lens 10 and the second micro-cylinder array 23 of the homogenizing unit array 20, so that a fast-axis divergence angle α of the fast-axis beam 101 of the laser beam 100 is reduced, thereby improving the collimation of the laser beam 100 and obtaining the homogenizing spot 104 on an image plane 200.

The step (b) further comprises the steps of:

(b1) Compressing the laser beam 100 by the first micro-cylinder array 22 of a homogenizing unit array 20; and

(b2) The laser beam 100 is homogenized by the second micro-cylinder array 23 of the homogenizing unit array 20.

Optionally, the laser beam 100 passes through the collimating lens 10 and the second micro-cylinder array 23 of the homogenizing unit array 20 in sequence.

Optionally, the laser beam 100 passes through the second micro-cylinder array 23 of the homogenizing unit array 20 and the collimating lens 10 in sequence.

Optionally, the laser beam 100 passes through the first micro-cylinder array 22, the second micro-cylinder array 23 and the collimating lens 10 of the homogenizing unit array 20 in sequence.

Optionally, the laser beam 100 passes through the first micro-cylinder array 22, the collimating lens 10 and the two second micro-cylinder arrays 23 of the homogenizing unit array 20 in sequence.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments are only examples, wherein features of different embodiments may be combined with each other to obtain embodiments which are easily conceivable in accordance with the disclosure of the invention, but which are not explicitly indicated in the drawings.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention described above and shown in the drawings are given by way of example only and are not limiting of the invention. The objects of the invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The functional and structural principles of the present invention have been shown and described in the examples, and any variations or modifications of the embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the principles.

Claims

1. A beam shaping device for shaping at least one laser beam, said laser beam being divided into a fast axis beam and a slow axis beam, wherein said fast axis beam has a fast axis divergence and said slow axis beam has a slow axis divergence, said beam shaping device comprising:

2. The beam-shaping device of claim 1, wherein the beam-shaping device has an object side and an image side, and the collimating lens and the homogenizing unit array of the beam-shaping device are disposed between the object side and the image side at a distance from each other.

3. The beam-shaping device of claim 2, wherein the homogenizing unit array comprises a first micro-cylinder array and at least a second micro-cylinder array, the first micro-cylinder array compresses the laser beam, the second micro-cylinder array can homogenize the laser beam, and the first micro-cylinder array, the collimating lens, and the second micro-cylinder array are disposed between the object side and the image side at a distance from each other.

4. the beam-shaping device of claim 3, wherein the collimating lens is disposed between the first micro-cylinder array and the second micro-cylinder array.

5. The beam-shaping device of claim 4, wherein the first micro-cylinder array, the collimating lens, and the second micro-cylinder array are in order from the object side to the image side.

6. The beam-shaping device of claim 3, wherein the second micro-cylinder array is disposed between the first micro-cylinder array and the collimating lens.

7. the beam shaping device of claim 6, wherein the first micro-cylinder array, the second micro-cylinder array, and the collimating lens are in order from the object side to the image side.

8. The beam-shaping device according to claim 2, wherein the homogenizing unit array comprises a second micro-cylinder array capable of homogenizing the laser beam, the second micro-cylinder array and the collimating lens being disposed between the object side and the image side at a distance from each other.

9. The beam-shaping device of claim 8, wherein the collimating lens and the second micro-cylinder array are in order from the object side to the image side.

10. The beam-shaping device of claim 8, wherein the second micro-cylinder array and the collimating lens are in order from the object side to the image side.

11. The light beam shaping device according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the first micro-cylinder array comprises a plurality of first micro-cylinders, each of the first micro-cylinders has a second light incident surface and a second light emitting surface opposite to the second light incident surface, the second light incident surface is a convex surface, and the second light emitting surface is a plane surface; or the second light incident surface is a plane, and the second light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the second light incident surface is a plane, and the second light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the second light incident surface is a concave surface, and the second light emergent surface is a plane; or the second light incident surface is a convex surface, and the second light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the second light incident surface is a convex surface, and the second light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the second light incident surface is a concave surface, and the second light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the second light incident surface is a concave surface, and the second light emergent surface is a convex surface.

12. The beam shaping device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the second micro-cylinder array comprises a plurality of second micro-cylinders, the second micro-cylinders having a third light incident surface and a third light emitting surface opposite to the third light incident surface, wherein the third light incident surface is convex and the third light emitting surface is flat; or the third light incident surface is a plane, and the third light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the third light incident surface is a plane, and the third light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the third light incident surface is a concave surface, and the third light emergent surface is a plane; or the third light incident surface is a convex surface, and the third light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the third light incident surface is a convex surface, and the third light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the third light incident surface is a concave surface, and the third light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the third light incident surface is a concave surface, and the third light emergent surface is a convex surface.

13. The beam-shaping device of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the collimating lens is an aspheric cylindrical lens.

14. A beam shaping device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the collimating lens is a spherical cylindrical lens.

15. The beam shaping device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the collimating lens has a first light incident surface and a first light emitting surface opposite to the first light incident surface, the first light incident surface is a convex surface, and the first light emitting surface is a plane surface; or the first light incident surface is a plane, and the first light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the first light incident surface is a concave surface, and the first light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the first light incident surface is a convex surface, and the first light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the first light incident surface is a concave surface, and the first light emergent surface is a plane; or the first light incident surface plane, the first light emergent surface is a concave surface; or the first light incident surface is a convex surface, and the first light emergent surface is a convex surface; or the first light incident surface is a concave surface, and the first light emergent surface is a concave surface.

16. The beam-shaping device according to claim 1, wherein the beam-shaping device further comprises a detection element, the collimating lens, the homogenizing unit array, and the detection element are disposed between the object side and the image side at intervals, and the detection element is disposed closest to the image side with respect to the collimating lens and the homogenizing unit array, the detection element being capable of detecting the laser beam passing through the collimating lens and the homogenizing unit array.

17. A method of beam shaping in a beam shaping device, the method comprising:

18. The beam shaping method of claim 17, wherein the step (b) further comprises the steps of:

(b1) Compressing the laser beam by the first micro-cylindrical mirror array of a homogenization unit array; and

(b2) Homogenizing the laser beam by the second micro-cylindrical mirror array of the homogenization unit array.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the laser beam sequentially passes through a first micro-cylinder array, the collimating lens and the second micro-cylinder array of the homogenizing unit array.

20. The method of beam shaping as defined in claim 17, wherein the step (b) further comprises the steps of: homogenizing the laser beam by the second micro-cylindrical mirror array of the homogenization unit array.

21. the beam-shaping method of claim 20, wherein the laser beam passes through the collimating lens and the second micro-cylinder array of the homogenizing unit array in sequence.

22. The beam-shaping method of claim 20, wherein the laser beam passes through the second micro-cylinder array of the homogenizing unit array and the collimating lens in sequence.

23. The beam shaping method of claim 18, wherein the laser beam passes through the first micro-cylinder array, the at least one second micro-cylinder array, and the collimating lens in sequence.

24. The beam shaping method according to claim 18, wherein the laser beam sequentially passes through the first micro-cylinder array, the collimating lens, and at least one of the second micro-cylinder arrays of the homogenizing unit array.