CN214751105U - Multicolor laser system - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model discloses a polychrome laser system, this system includes: n lasers, wherein each laser is used for emitting laser with different wavelengths, and N is larger than 1; the N lasers comprise a first laser and N-1 second lasers, and laser emitted by the first laser propagates along a first optical path or is reflected to the first optical path; the N-1 dichroic mirrors are arranged on the first light path, and each dichroic mirror is arranged at the intersection point of the light path of emergent light of each second laser and the first light path; the N mechanical shutters are respectively arranged on the emergent light path of each laser; and the laser light propagating along the first optical path is coupled to the optical fiber jumper. The problem that different fluorescent probes or dyes cannot be excited by simultaneously outputting multi-wavelength laser in the prior art is solved through the multi-wavelength laser excitation system, and the multi-wavelength laser system with the relatively simple structure is provided.

Description

Multicolor laser system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of optics, and more particularly, to a multi-color laser system.

Background

For experiments in the optical field, laser light sources are often not available. For example, in the field of optical microscopy, it is generally required to excite a fluorescent probe labeled in a sample organism to emit fluorescence by means of laser, and then a detector acquires an image to acquire internal information of the sample.

For different cells or proteins, it is often necessary to label them with dyes or fluorescent protein labels of different emission wavelengths, and the corresponding absorption wavelengths are often different: the laser with single wavelength cannot meet the requirement, so that a plurality of lasers with different wavelengths are required to be excited to screen different cells or proteins, and dynamic real-time monitoring on different cells and proteins is further realized. In addition, with the research, the spectral range of the optical microscopy imaging is also expanded from the traditional visible light band (-390-780 nm) to the ultraviolet-visible-near infrared two-band (-300-1700 nm). Therefore, it is difficult to satisfy the above practical requirements simultaneously with a single wavelength laser system.

The tunable laser can continuously change the output wavelength of the laser within a certain range by a specific principle and a specific method, but only one wavelength can be output by single tuning, and the simultaneous output of multiple wavelengths cannot be realized; the laser has a complex internal structure and generally higher price.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The embodiment of the application provides a multicolor laser system, which at least solves the problem that in the prior art, multi-wavelength laser cannot be output simultaneously to excite different fluorescent probes or dyes.

According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided a multi-color laser system comprising: n lasers, wherein each laser is used for emitting laser light with different wavelengths, and N is larger than 1; the N lasers comprise a first laser and N-1 second lasers, and laser light emitted by the first laser propagates along a first optical path or is reflected to the first optical path; the N-1 dichroic mirrors are arranged on the first light path, and each dichroic mirror is arranged at the intersection of the light path of emergent light of each second laser and the first light path respectively, is used for reflecting light emitted by the second laser to the first light path and transmitting laser transmitted on the first light path; the mechanical shutters are arranged on emergent light paths of the lasers respectively, when the mechanical shutters are closed, the emergent light of the lasers is shielded, and when the mechanical shutters are opened, the emergent light of the lasers passes through the mechanical shutters; a fiber jumper to which laser light propagating along the first optical path is coupled.

Further, in a case where the laser light emitted by the first laser is reflected to the first optical path, the system further includes: the reflecting mirror is used for emitting the laser light emitted by the first laser to the first light path; the system further comprises: the first adjusting frame is used for adjusting the angles of the reflecting mirror and the dichroic mirror.

Further, the system further comprises: and the N optical filters are arranged between the first laser and the reflecting mirror and between the second laser and the dichroic mirror and used for adjusting the monochromaticity of the laser emergent light beam.

Further, the system further comprises: and the N optical windows are arranged between the optical filter and the reflecting mirror or the dichroic mirror and are used for adjusting the angle of the laser beam.

Further, the system further comprises: and the second adjusting frame is used for respectively adjusting the rotation of the N optical windows and/or the first adjusting frame and the second adjusting frame are made of stainless steel.

Further, the optical window is made of ultraviolet fused silica glass or BK7 glass, and the thickness of the optical window is not less than 8 mm.

Further, the system further comprises: the laser of the first light path is diverged through the concave lens and then is gathered to the incident end face of the optical fiber jumper through the convex lens.

Further, the convex lens is an achromatic convex lens.

Further, the system further comprises: and the acousto-optic modulator is used for adjusting the beam intensity of the laser before entering the concave lens.

Further, the optical fiber jumper is a single mode optical fiber, and/or N is 4.

In the embodiment of the application, N lasers are adopted, wherein each laser is used for emitting laser with different wavelengths, and N is greater than 1; the N lasers comprise a first laser and N-1 second lasers, and laser light emitted by the first laser propagates along a first optical path or is reflected to the first optical path; the N-1 dichroic mirrors are arranged on the first light path, and each dichroic mirror is arranged at the intersection of the light path of emergent light of each second laser and the first light path respectively, is used for reflecting light emitted by the second laser to the first light path and transmitting laser transmitted on the first light path; the mechanical shutters are arranged on emergent light paths of the lasers respectively, when the mechanical shutters are closed, the emergent light of the lasers is shielded, and when the mechanical shutters are opened, the emergent light of the lasers passes through the mechanical shutters; a fiber jumper to which laser light propagating along the first optical path is coupled. The problem that different fluorescent probes or dyes cannot be excited by simultaneously outputting multi-wavelength laser in the prior art is solved through the multi-wavelength laser excitation system, and the multi-wavelength laser system with the relatively simple structure is provided.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the application and, together with the description, serve to explain the application and are not intended to limit the application. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a four-color laser system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a control panel of a four-color laser system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the first laser 1 alone according to the embodiment of the present application.

Description of reference numerals:

in fig. 1: 1-a first laser, 2-a second laser, 3-a third laser, 4-a fourth laser, 5-a first optical filter, 6-a second optical filter, 7-a third optical filter, 8-a fourth optical filter, 9-a first mechanical shutter, 10-a second mechanical shutter, 11-a third mechanical shutter, 12-a fourth mechanical shutter, 13-a first optical window, 14-a first optical window, 15-a first optical window, 16-a first optical window, 17-a plane mirror, 18-a first dichroic mirror, 19-a second dichroic mirror, 20-a third dichroic mirror, 21-an acousto-optic modulator, 22-a concave lens, 23-a convex lens, 24-a jumper fiber.

In fig. 2: c1-first laser 1 power switch, C2-second laser 2 power switch, C3-third laser 3 power switch, C4-fourth laser 4 power switch, C5-first mechanical shutter 9 power switch, C6-second mechanical shutter 10 power switch, C7-third mechanical shutter 11 power switch, C8-fourth mechanical shutter 12 power switch, C9-first laser 1 output power adjusting knob, C10-second laser 2 output power adjusting knob, C11-third laser 3 output power adjusting knob, C12-fourth laser 4 output power adjusting knob, C13-first laser 1 real-time output power display window, C14-second laser 2 real-time output power display window, C15-third laser 3 output power real-time display window, c16-fourth laser 4 output power real-time display window, C17-total power switch of four-color laser system.

Detailed Description

It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict. The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

In the following embodiments, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that an article of manufacture or device that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such article of manufacture or device.

In this embodiment, there is provided a multi-color laser system comprising: n lasers, where each laser is configured to emit laser light at a different wavelength, and N is greater than 1 (e.g., N-4); the system comprises N lasers, a first light path, a second light path and N-1 second lasers, wherein the N lasers comprise one first laser and N-1 second lasers, laser light emitted by the first laser propagates along the first light path or is reflected to the first light path, and in the case of being reflected to the first light path, the system can further comprise a reflecting mirror used for emitting the laser light emitted by the first laser to the first light path; the N-1 dichroic mirrors are arranged on the first light path, and each dichroic mirror is arranged at the intersection of the light path of emergent light of each second laser and the first light path respectively, is used for reflecting light emitted by the second laser to the first light path and transmitting laser light transmitted on the first light path; the mechanical shutters are arranged on emergent light paths of the lasers respectively, when the mechanical shutters are closed, the emergent light of the lasers is shielded, and when the mechanical shutters are opened, the emergent light of the lasers passes through the mechanical shutters; and a fiber jumper to which the laser light propagating along the first optical path is coupled (preferably a single mode fiber).

In an alternative, a first adjustment bracket may be added for adjusting the angle of the mirror and the dichroic mirror.

The system may also include one or more devices for improving performance, such as: the N optical filters are arranged between the first laser and the reflecting mirror and between the second laser and the dichroic mirror and used for adjusting the monochromaticity of the laser emergent light beam; and the N optical windows are arranged between the optical filter and the reflecting mirror or the dichroic mirror and are used for adjusting the angle of the laser beam.

Another example is: the laser of the first optical path is diverged by the concave lens and then is gathered to the incident end face of the optical fiber jumper by the convex lens; and the acousto-optic modulator is used for adjusting the beam intensity of the laser before entering the concave lens.

In an alternative, a first adjustment bracket may be added for adjusting the angle of the mirror and the dichroic mirror. A second adjusting frame can be added for respectively adjusting the rotation of the N optical windows. The optical window is made of various materials, for example, the optical window is made of ultraviolet fused silica glass or BK7 glass, and the thickness of the optical window is not less than 8 mm.

The optional embodiment is described by taking a four-color laser system as an example, the system combines four monochromatic lasers with different wavelengths with an optical window, a plane mirror and a dichroic mirror, focuses the four laser beams at the same position of the incident end face of the optical fiber jumper by adopting the combination of a concave lens and a convex lens, and finally emits a single-mode beam with good monochromaticity through the emergent end face of the optical fiber jumper.

Referring to fig. 1, the four-color laser system described in this embodiment mainly includes four monochromatic lasers, optical filters, mechanical shutters, optical windows, mirrors, dichroic mirrors, convex lenses, concave lenses, and optical fiber jumpers.

The system comprises four monochromatic lasers (a first laser 1, a second laser 2, a third laser 3 and a fourth laser 4), optical filters (a first filter 5, a second filter 6, a third filter 7 and a fourth filter 8), mechanical shutters (a first mechanical shutter 9, a second mechanical shutter 10, a third mechanical shutter 11 and a fourth mechanical shutter 12), optical windows (a first optical window 13, a second optical window 14, a third optical window 15 and a fourth optical window 16), a reflector 17, dichroic mirrors (a first dichroic mirror 18, a second dichroic mirror 19 and a third dichroic mirror 20), an acousto-optic modulator 21, a convex lens 23, a concave lens 22 and an optical fiber jumper 24.

The following describes each part of the system.

The four color lasers 1, 2, 3, 4 are four lasers with different wavelengths. In a preferred embodiment, the four monochromatic lasers 1, 2, 3, 4 have different output wavelengths, and have the characteristics of good monochromaticity, beam quality M2 close to 1, stable power output under long-time operation, and the like, and the wavelengths of the four monochromatic lasers 1, 2, 3, 4 can be selected according to specific experimental requirements, and the lasers are continuous lasers.

The filters 5, 6, 7 and 8 are used for improving the monochromaticity of each laser emergent beam by filtering; in a preferred embodiment, the filter is a narrow band pass filter with a bandwidth of no more than 2nm to optimize the monochromaticity of the respective laser output beam.

Mechanical shutters 9, 10, 11, 12 for switching on and off of the individual lasers; in a preferred embodiment, the mechanical shutters 9, 10, 11, 12 are used in cooperation with a steering engine, and are switched between open and closed by circuit control, so that the laser beam can be selected to pass through or not pass through.

The optical window 13 is used for adjusting the angle of the light beam and is arranged on an adjustable customized adjusting frame; in a preferred embodiment, the optical window 13 can be made of ultraviolet fused silica or common BK7 glass, and has two flat surfaces with a height of not less than 8mm to ensure the optical path adjustment precision.

The reflector 17 is used for changing the direction of incident light; in a preferred embodiment, the mirror 17 must have a reflectivity of not less than 99.6% at a particular wavelength. The dichromatic mirrors 18, 19 and 20 are used for laser beam combination and are arranged on a three-axis adjustable adjusting frame at an angle of 45 degrees; in a preferred embodiment, the dichroic mirrors 18, 19, 20 have good parallelism to ensure beam steering control, while the transmittance and reflectance after coating must be ensured to be not less than 99.6%, so as to minimize the loss of laser beam energy.

The adjusting frame of the reflector 17 and the adjusting frame of the dichroic mirror are three-axis precise adjusting frames, and are matched with the rotary adjusting frame of the optical window to form a four-dimensional adjusting frame, so that the direction of the laser beam can be precisely adjusted. In a preferred embodiment, the adjusting frame of the reflector 17, the adjusting frames of the dichroic mirrors 18, 19, 20 and the rotating adjusting frame of the matching optical window are all made of stainless steel, which can effectively prevent temperature drift.

The acousto-optic modulator 21 is an acousto-optic device that controls the variation of the intensity of the laser beam.

The concave lens 22 diverges the incident laser, improves the light beam focusing effect by matching with the concave lens 22, and ensures the coupling efficiency of the laser coupled to the optical fiber jumper 24; the convex lens 23 is an achromatic convex lens to ensure that the laser lights with different wavelengths are focused at the same position; the concave lens 22 is matched with the convex lens 23, so that laser beams are uniformly converged on the incident end face of the optical fiber jumper 24, and the respective focal lengths are shorter, thereby shortening the optical path and improving the stability of the optical path.

The optical fiber jumper 24 is used for guiding laser propagation, and two ends of the optical fiber jumper are respectively used as an input port and an output port of a light beam. In a preferred embodiment, the optical fiber jumper 24 is a single mode optical fiber, thereby ensuring the output quality of the light beam.

The combination of the four monochromatic laser beams in this embodiment is one of the key details of a four-color laser system. In the invention, the combination of four laser beams is realized mainly by an optical window, a reflector and a dichroic mirror: specifically, the optical window is a transparent window with a certain thickness and is arranged on an adjusting frame capable of rotating the optical window, and laser can be refracted when passing through the optical window so as to change the spatial position of a light beam; the angle of the laser beam can be accurately controlled by finely adjusting the angle of the optical window, the angle of the reflector and the angle of the dichroic mirror, so that the beam combination of four laser beams is realized.

In particular, the optical window, the plane mirror and the dichroic mirror used in the present embodiment have high surface flatness, and the transmittance of the optical window, the reflectance of the plane mirror and the reflectance and transmittance of the dichroic mirror are all 99.6% or more; the convex lens and the concave lens have the transmittance of more than 99.6 percent in the wavelength range of the four-color laser, and the diameters of the convex lens and the concave lens can be selected to be half an inch or one inch; in addition, the optical fiber patch cord used is a single mode optical fiber patch cord.

The four-color laser is efficiently coupled to the optical fiber jumper and output, which is another key detail of the four-color laser system. The embodiment adopts the combination of the concave lens and the convex lens to realize that the light beam is efficiently coupled to the optical fiber jumper and output: the focal lengths of the concave lens and the convex lens are optimized, so that the four laser beams are uniformly focused on the same position of the incident end face of the optical fiber jumper after passing through the two lenses.

In this embodiment, the gating of the four lasers with different wavelengths allows a user to independently control the switches corresponding to the mechanical shutters according to the requirements of specific experimental scenes, that is, the power switch buttons of C5, C6, C7 and C8 on the control panel of fig. 2 are switched, so that the output of monochromatic laser can be realized, and the different combined outputs of two-color, three-color and four-color laser can also be realized; the selection of the laser needs to select a single-mode continuous laser with good monochromaticity, stable power and good spot quality so as to ensure the quality of the emergent light beam of the four-color laser light source system; the on-off state of each laser is switched on and off through independent switches, namely, power switch buttons C1, C2, C3 and C4 on the control panel of FIG. 2; the power output by each laser is realized by adjusting knobs C9, C10, C11 and C12 on the control panel of FIG. 2, and accordingly, the real-time output power of each laser is respectively displayed on display windows C13, C14, C15 and C16 on the control panel of FIG. 2.

When the four-color laser system of the present embodiment is in operation, the details of the optical path in the system include the following parts:

first, a laser beam emitted from the first laser 1 passes through the first optical filter 5, the first mechanical shutter 9 in an open state, and the first optical window 13, enters the plane mirror 17, and is reflected to the front surface (transmission surface) of the first dichroic mirror 18; laser beams emitted by the second laser 2 sequentially pass through the second optical filter 6, the first mechanical shutter 10 in an open state and the second optical window 14 and then enter the rear surface (reflecting surface) of the first dichroic mirror 18; the laser beam emitted from the first laser 1 is transmitted through the first dichroic mirror 18, and is combined with the laser beam emitted from the second laser 2 reflected by the first dichroic mirror 18, and then is incident together on the rear surface (transmission surface) of the second dichroic mirror 19.

Then, the laser beam emitted from the third laser 3 passes through the third optical filter 7, the third mechanical shutter 11 in the open state, and the third optical window 15, then enters the rear surface (reflective surface) of the second dichroic mirror 19, is reflected, then merges with the laser beam emitted from the first laser 1 transmitted by the first dichroic mirror 18 and the laser beam emitted from the second laser 2 reflected by the first dichroic mirror 18, and then the three beams of light enter the rear surface (transmissive surface) of the third dichroic mirror 20 together.

Then, the laser beam emitted from the fourth laser 4 passes through the fourth optical filter 8, the fourth mechanical shutter 12 in the opened state, and the fourth optical window 16, and then enters the rear surface (reflection surface) of the third dichroic mirror 20 to be reflected, and then joins the laser beam emitted from the first laser 1 and the laser beam emitted from the second laser 2 that are transmitted through the second dichroic mirror 19, and the laser beam emitted from the third laser 3 that is reflected by the second dichroic mirror 19, and then enters the center of the concave lens 21.

Finally, the four laser beams sequentially pass through the concave lens 21 and the convex lens 22, are focused at the same position of the incident end face of the optical fiber jumper 23, are further coupled into the optical fiber jumper 23, and are finally output to a free space from the other end of the optical fiber jumper 23.

Before the four-color laser system of the embodiment operates, each laser and each mechanical shutter are connected with an interface behind a control panel through a power line and a data line; after the control panel is connected to the power supply, the operation process of the four-color laser system includes the following steps, taking the single output of the first laser 1 as an example:

step S100, pressing a main power switch C17, and switching on a power supply by the system;

step S200, a power switch C1 of the first laser 1 and a power switch of the first mechanical shutter 9 are pressed, at the moment, the laser 1 is powered on, and the first mechanical shutter 9 is in an 'open' state, which can allow the laser beam emitted by the first laser 1 to enter the light path;

step 300, adjusting the output power of the first laser 1 by adjusting the output power adjusting knob of the first laser 1 according to the actual laser power requirement, and finally outputting the laser beam emitted by the first laser 1 through the output port of the optical fiber jumper 23.

It should be noted that the power switches C1, C2, C3 and C4 of each laser, and the power switches C5, C6, C7 and C8 of each mechanical shutter can be independently controlled, so that the system can flexibly realize monochromatic laser output, dichroic laser output, three-color laser output and four-color laser output; correspondingly, the power output knob of the corresponding laser is adjusted in step S300.

Compared with the prior art, the embodiment has the following advantages:

(1) according to specific experimental requirements, four lasers with different wavelengths can be flexibly selected and matched, and the dichromatic mirrors with corresponding wavelengths are correspondingly replaced to realize the normal work of the whole laser system: therefore, the four-color laser system provided by the embodiment has more flexibility.

(2) Through the angle of the adjusting bracket and the dichromatic steering mirror of accurate adjustment optical window, speculum, can effectively realize the accurate regulation to laser beam spatial position and direction.

(3) The four-color laser system integrates four single-color lasers together, and single-color output or simultaneous multi-color output can be realized through a mechanical shutter; meanwhile, the system adopts the short-focus concave lens and the short-focus convex lens to effectively shorten the light path, and the system is matched with an optical fiber jumper to realize laser output: therefore, the four-color laser system proposed by the present embodiment is stable and integrated.

(3) The embodiment realizes stable and reliable output of the four-color laser by means of light path design and mechanical adjustment, and all the components used in the embodiment are common components, so that the four-color laser system provided by the embodiment has high cost performance.

In addition, in the embodiment, the power of the four-color laser and the switching of the mechanical shutter states can be independently adjusted by the computer through control software, so that the overall operability and stability of the system can be ensured. Compared with commercial four-color laser systems on the market, the four-color laser system has higher integration level, stability and cost performance, flexible control mode and stable performance.

In summary, in view of the defects in the prior art, the four-color laser system proposed in this embodiment combines the optical system design to integrate the four monochromatic continuous lasers with different wavelengths together, and controls the four mechanical shutters to flexibly implement the simultaneous output of monochromatic laser output, four-color laser output, two-color lasers with different combinations, and three-color lasers with different combinations, so that the four-color laser system has excellent compatibility with the fields of optical imaging, biological sensing, and intelligent medical treatment. The whole four-color laser system has simple light path, and the used components are common devices, so the cost is lower. The system has high integration level, compact structure and convenient installation and adjustment; the working is stable, the performance is reliable, and important functions are certainly played in practical application.

The above are merely examples of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Various modifications and changes may occur to those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims (10)

1. A multi-color laser system, comprising:

n lasers, wherein each laser is used for emitting laser light with different wavelengths, and N is larger than 1; the N lasers comprise a first laser and N-1 second lasers, and laser light emitted by the first laser propagates along a first optical path or is reflected to the first optical path;

the N-1 dichroic mirrors are arranged on the first light path, and each dichroic mirror is arranged at the intersection of the light path of emergent light of each second laser and the first light path respectively, is used for reflecting light emitted by the second laser to the first light path and transmitting laser transmitted on the first light path;

the mechanical shutters are arranged on emergent light paths of the lasers respectively, when the mechanical shutters are closed, the emergent light of the lasers is shielded, and when the mechanical shutters are opened, the emergent light of the lasers passes through the mechanical shutters;

a fiber jumper to which laser light propagating along the first optical path is coupled.

2. The system of claim 1,

in a case where the laser light emitted by the first laser is reflected to the first optical path, the system further includes: the reflecting mirror is used for emitting the laser light emitted by the first laser to the first light path;

the system further comprises: the first adjusting frame is used for adjusting the angles of the reflecting mirror and the dichroic mirror.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

and the N optical filters are arranged between the first laser and the reflecting mirror and between the second laser and the dichroic mirror and used for adjusting the monochromaticity of the laser emergent light beam.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

and the N optical windows are arranged between the optical filter and the reflecting mirror or the dichroic mirror and are used for adjusting the angle of the laser beam.

5. The system of claim 4,

the system further comprises: the second adjusting frame can be used for respectively adjusting the rotation of the N optical windows; and/or the material of the first adjusting bracket and the second adjusting bracket is stainless steel.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the optical window is made of ultraviolet fused silica glass or BK7 glass, and the thickness of the optical window is not less than 8 mm.

7. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:

the laser of the first light path is diverged through the concave lens and then is gathered to the incident end face of the optical fiber jumper through the convex lens.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the convex lens is an achromatic convex lens.

9. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

and the acousto-optic modulator is used for adjusting the beam intensity of the laser before entering the concave lens.

10. The system of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the optical fiber patch cord is a single mode optical fiber, and/or wherein N-4.

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