JP5605277B2 - Laser equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser device having a function of adjusting the position of an optical element.

  In a laser apparatus having a mechanism for adjusting the position of the optical element in the apparatus and the angle with respect to the optical axis, the emission position and emission angle of the emitted light are adjusted. For example, there has been proposed a method for adjusting the optical axis position of an optical element by sliding the optical elements constituting the laser device in a state of being attached to a holder (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-210899A

  However, in a mechanism that adjusts the position and angle of the optical element by sliding the holder that supports the optical element, or adjusts the angle with a screw, the dust on the metal piece is caused by the friction of the sliding surface of the holder and the screw part. Will occur. When the laser device oscillates with the dust attached to the optical surface of the optical element, there is a problem that the optical element is damaged.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a laser device capable of preventing an optical element from being damaged due to adhesion of dust generated on a sliding portion inside the device.

According to one aspect of the present invention, (b) a semiconductor laser that emits excitation light, (b) a laser output unit that receives the excitation light and emits emission light generated from the excitation light, and (c) a laser. A holder that supports at least one of the optical elements constituting the output unit and has a metal sliding portion, and (d) an adsorption having ferromagnetism that is disposed in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder and adsorbs the metal piece. and a device, to the extent that metal pieces generated in the sliding portion is adsorbed to the adsorption device without scattering, laser apparatus is provided suction devices that are located in the vicinity of the sliding portion.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the laser apparatus which can prevent that an optical element is damaged by adhesion of the dust produced in the sliding part inside an apparatus can be provided.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the laser apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the adsorption | suction apparatus of the laser apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the adsorption | suction apparatus of the laser apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of arrangement | positioning of the adsorption | suction apparatus of the laser apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  First and second embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic. Further, the following first and second embodiments exemplify apparatuses and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the embodiments of the present invention include the structure of component parts, The arrangement is not specified as follows. The embodiment of the present invention can be variously modified within the scope of the claims.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the laser apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a semiconductor laser 10 that emits excitation light L1, and an emission light L4 that is generated from the excitation light L1 when the excitation light L1 enters. The holder 30 having a metal sliding portion for supporting at least one of the laser output unit 20 that emits light and the optical element constituting the laser output unit 20 and adjusting the position of the optical element or the angle with respect to the optical axis. And a suction device 40 having ferromagnetism that is disposed in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder 30 and that attracts metal pieces.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the laser output unit 20 includes a solid-state laser medium 21, a beam splitter 22, a wavelength conversion element 23, a reflecting surface mirror 24, and an adjustment mirror 25 as optical elements.

  The solid-state laser medium 21 is excited by the excitation light L1 and outputs the oscillation light L2. An incident surface mirror 211 is disposed on the surface of the solid-state laser medium 21 on which the excitation light L1 is incident. Then, the reflecting surface mirror 24 is disposed on the optical axis of the oscillation light L2 so as to constitute the optical resonator 200 in which the oscillation light L2 resonates with the incident surface mirror 211.

  The beam splitter 22 and the wavelength conversion element 23 are disposed in the optical resonator 200 configured between the incident surface mirror 211 and the reflecting surface mirror 24. The wavelength conversion element 23 receives the oscillation light L2 as the fundamental wave light, and outputs harmonic light (hereinafter referred to as “harmonic light”) L3 obtained by wavelength conversion of the oscillation light L2. The beam splitter 22 takes out the harmonic light L3 from the optical resonator 200.

  The adjustment mirror 25 adjusts the emission position and the emission angle of the harmonic light L3 extracted by the beam splitter 22, and outputs it as the emitted light L4 to the outside of the laser output unit 20.

  The holder 30 holds at least one of the solid-state laser medium 21, the beam splitter 22, the wavelength conversion element 23, the reflection surface mirror 24, and the adjustment mirror 25. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an example is shown in which the adjustment mirror 25 is supported by the holder 30 and the suction device 40 is disposed in the vicinity of the holder 30.

  Below, operation | movement of the laser apparatus 1 is demonstrated.

  The excitation light L1 emitted from the semiconductor laser 10 is condensed by the condenser lenses 11a and 11b. As the semiconductor laser 10, for example, a superluminescent diode (SLD), a semiconductor laser having an inclined stripe structure, or the like can be used.

  The excitation light L1 collected by the condenser lenses 11a and 11b is incident on the solid-state laser medium 21. The solid-state laser medium 21 is excited by the excitation light L1 and generates oscillation light L2. For example, when the wavelength of the excitation light L1 is 808 nm, oscillation light L2 having a wavelength of 1064 nm is generated by the solid-state laser medium 21 doped with neodymium.

  The incident surface mirror 211 on which the excitation light L1 of the solid-state laser medium 21 is incident has a characteristic of transmitting the excitation light L1 but reflecting the oscillation light L2. For example, the excitation light L 1 having a wavelength of 808 nm is transmitted through the incident surface mirror 211, while the oscillation light L 2 having a wavelength of 1064 nm is reflected by the incident surface mirror 211.

  The oscillation light L <b> 2 generated in the solid-state laser medium 21 passes through the beam splitter 22 and the wavelength conversion element 23 and is reflected by the reflecting surface mirror 24. The oscillation light L <b> 2 reflected by the reflecting surface mirror 24 passes through the wavelength conversion element 23 and the beam splitter 22, enters the solid-state laser medium 21, and is reflected by the incident surface mirror 211. Thus, the optical resonator 200 in which the oscillation light L2 resonates is configured between the incident surface mirror 211 and the reflection surface mirror.

  The wavelength conversion element 23 on which the oscillation light L2 is incident generates, for example, the second harmonic light L3 of the oscillation light L2. Specifically, when the oscillation light L2 having a wavelength of 1064 nm is incident, the wavelength conversion element 23 generates the harmonic light L3 having a wavelength of 532 nm. The wavelength conversion element 23 is, for example, a nonlinear wavelength conversion element.

  The harmonic light L3 generated by the wavelength conversion element 23 is incident on the beam splitter 22 after being reflected by the reflecting surface mirror 24 and passing through the wavelength conversion element 23 or directly from the wavelength conversion element 23. For this reason, the reflecting surface mirror 24 has a characteristic of reflecting the oscillation light L2 and the harmonic light L3. For example, the reflecting surface mirror 24 reflects the oscillation light L2 having a wavelength of 1064 nm and the harmonic light L3 having a wavelength of 532 nm.

  The beam splitter 22 extracts the incident harmonic light L3 from the optical resonator 200. On the other hand, the oscillation light L2 passes through the beam splitter 22 as it is. For example, the oscillation light L2 having a wavelength of 1064 nm passes through the beam splitter 22 and resonates in the optical resonator 200, while the harmonic light L3 having a wavelength of 532nm is extracted from the optical resonator 200 by the beam splitter 22.

  The harmonic light L3 extracted by the beam splitter 22 is output to the adjustment mirror 25 outside the optical resonator 200. The harmonic light L3 has its emission position and emission angle adjusted by the adjustment mirror 25, and is emitted outside the laser apparatus 1 as emission light L4.

  The adjustment mirror 25 is supported by the holder 30. By moving the sliding portion of the holder 30, the position of the mirror surface of the adjustment mirror 25 and the angle of the incident harmonic light L3 with respect to the optical axis are adjusted.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of the holder 30 that supports the adjustment mirror 25. The holder 30 includes a first support plate 31 and a second support plate 32 disposed on the first support plate 31. The first support plate 31 and the second support plate 32 are fastened by screws 33. The first support plate 31, the second support plate 32, and the screw 33 are made of metal. For example, a ferromagnetic metal such as SUS430 can be used.

  The adjustment mirror 25 is disposed on the second support plate 32. The second support plate 32 can be moved on the first support plate 31 by loosening the screw 33. As a result, the relative position and angle of the adjustment mirror 25 with respect to the beam splitter 22 are adjusted. The beam splitter 22 may be disposed on the first support plate 31.

  The screw portion for attaching the screw 33 of the first support plate 31 and the second support plate 32, and the sliding surface where the first support plate 31 and the second support plate 32 contact each other are the sliding portions of the holder 30. It is. By rotating the screw 33 or sliding the second support plate 32 on the first support plate 31, dust of metal pieces is generated from the sliding portion by friction.

  In the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder 30, a suction device 40 that sucks metal pieces is disposed. The adsorbing device 40 in FIG. 2 is a cylindrical body, but the adsorbing device 40 may have any shape. The dust of the metal piece generated from the sliding part is adsorbed by the adsorption device 40. Although FIG. 2 shows an example in which the suction device 40 is arranged on the first support plate 31, the suction device 40 may be arranged anywhere as long as it is in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder 30.

  If the laser apparatus 1 is oscillated with dust adhering to the optical surface of the optical element, the optical element may be damaged. However, in the laser device 1 shown in FIG. 1, the dust generated from the sliding portion of the holder 30 is adsorbed to the adsorbing device 40 without being scattered. For this reason, it is prevented that the optical element in the laser output part 20 is damaged by dust.

  For the adsorption device 40, for example, a magnet or a magnetized ferromagnetic material is used. For example, ferritic stainless steel such as iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), gadolinium (Gd), SUS430, ferrite, and the like can be used as the material of the adsorption device 40.

  The suction device 40 needs to be disposed in the vicinity of the sliding portion within a distance in which dust generated at the sliding portion of the holder 30 is sucked. The distance to which the dust is adsorbed is determined according to the magnetic strength of the adsorption device 40 and the like. The adsorption device 40 adsorbs dust generated at the sliding portion of the optical element, but does not affect the position and angle of the optical element.

  1 and 2 exemplify the case where the adjustment mirror 25 is supported by the holder 30 and the position and the angle of the mirror surface with respect to the optical axis of the harmonic light L3 are adjusted. However, when any one of the optical elements other than the adjustment mirror 25 or a plurality of optical elements are supported by the holder 30 having the sliding portion and the position and the angle are adjusted, the effect of the embodiment of the present invention is similarly obtained. can get.

  For example, any of the reflecting surface mirror 24, the wavelength conversion element 23, the beam splitter 22, or each of the plurality of optical elements is supported by a holder 30 having the same configuration as that in FIG. Then, the suction device 40 is disposed in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder 30. In order to adjust the position and angle of the reflecting mirror 24, the wavelength conversion element 23, and the beam splitter 22 arranged on the second support plate 32, the screw 33 is rotated or the first support plate 31 is moved to the second position. When the support plate 32 is slid, dust is generated. However, these dusts are adsorbed by the adsorbing device 40 arranged in the vicinity of the sliding portion. As a result, it is possible to prevent the optical element from being damaged by adhesion of dust generated on the sliding portion.

  As described above, in the laser device 1 according to the first embodiment, the adsorption device 40 having ferromagnetism is disposed in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder 30 that supports the optical element constituting the laser output unit 20. Is done. Therefore, according to the laser device 1, the dust generated from the sliding portion of the holder 30 is adsorbed by the adsorbing device 40 without being scattered. For this reason, the laser apparatus 1 which can prevent that an optical element is damaged by adhesion of the dust produced in the sliding part inside an apparatus is realizable.

(Second Embodiment)
In the laser apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, an aperture 41 that corrects the contour of light propagating in the laser output unit 20 is disposed as a suction device 40 in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder 30. The aperture 41 is made of, for example, a metal having ferromagnetism, and limits the area of light passing therethrough.

  The aperture 41 shown in FIG. 3 is disposed on the optical axis of the outgoing light L4 reflected by the mirror surface of the adjustment mirror 25, and adjusts the contour of the outgoing light L4. Furthermore, by arranging the aperture 41 having ferromagnetism in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder 30, the aperture 41 is adsorbed without scattering dust generated from the sliding portion of the holder 30.

  Although FIG. 3 shows an example in which the aperture 41 is arranged on the optical axis of the emitted light L4, the aperture 41 can be arranged at an arbitrary position on the optical path in the laser output unit 20 as necessary. Specifically, the oscillation light L 2 and the harmonic light in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder 30 that supports any of the solid-state laser medium 21, the beam splitter 22, the wavelength conversion element 23, the reflection surface mirror 24, and the adjustment mirror 25. What is necessary is just to arrange | position the aperture 41 on the optical axis of L3 and the emitted light L4.

  As described above, according to the laser device according to the second embodiment, the dust generated from the sliding portion of the holder 30 is adsorbed to the aperture 41 without being scattered. For this reason, the laser apparatus 1 which can prevent that an optical element is damaged by adhesion of the dust produced in the sliding part inside an apparatus is realizable.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a suction device 40 other than the aperture may be disposed together with the aperture 41 in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder 30. Thereby, scattering of dust generated from the sliding portion of the holder 30 in the laser output unit 20 can be more reliably prevented.

  As described above, the present invention has been described according to the first and second embodiments. However, it should not be understood that the description and drawings constituting a part of this disclosure limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It goes without saying that the present invention includes various embodiments not described herein. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention specifying matters according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser apparatus 10 ... Semiconductor laser 20 ... Laser output part 21 ... Solid laser medium 22 ... Beam splitter 23 ... Wavelength conversion element 24 ... Reflective surface mirror 25 ... Adjustment mirror 30 ... Holder 31 ... 1st support plate 32 ... 2nd Support plate 40 ... Adsorption device 41 ... Aperture 200 ... Optical resonator 211 ... Incident surface mirror

Claims (4)

A semiconductor laser that emits excitation light; and
A laser output unit that receives the excitation light and emits the emitted light generated from the excitation light; and
A holder that supports at least one of the optical elements constituting the laser output unit and has a metal sliding portion;
An adsorbing device having ferromagnetism that adsorbs a metal piece and is disposed in the vicinity of the sliding portion of the holder, and the metal piece generated at the sliding portion is adsorbed to the adsorbing device without scattering. within, the laser device in which the suction device is characterized that you have been arranged in the vicinity of the sliding portion.   The laser device according to claim 1, wherein the sliding portion is a sliding surface where a plurality of members constituting the holder are in contact with each other, or a screw portion that fixes the members.   3. The laser device according to claim 1, wherein the suction device is a ferromagnetic aperture that corrects a contour of light propagating in the laser output unit. 4. The laser output unit is
An incident surface mirror is disposed on a surface on which the excitation light is incident, and a solid-state laser medium that is excited by the excitation light and outputs oscillation light;
A reflecting surface mirror constituting an optical resonator in which the oscillation light resonates with the incident surface mirror;
A wavelength conversion element arranged in the optical resonator and outputting harmonic light of the oscillation light;
A beam splitter for extracting the harmonic light from the optical resonator;
4. The laser according to claim 1, further comprising: an adjustment mirror that adjusts an emission position and an emission angle of the harmonic light extracted by the beam splitter and outputs the adjusted harmonic light. apparatus.

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