KR20220129257A - High brightness light source device - Google Patents

Abstract

A light source device is disclosed. The light source device includes: a primary condensing lens; a secondary condensing lens which has the same optical axis as the primary condensing lens, and has a smaller aperture than the primary condensing lens; a plurality of laser light sources which output light parallel to the optical axis; and a fluorescent plate. The primary condensing lens refracts light output from a plurality of laser light sources to concentrate the output light in one area of the fluorescent plate. When light incident to the area of the fluorescent plate is reflected from the fluorescent plate, the primary condensing lens refracts the reflected light to make the same incident to the secondary condensing lens to be in parallel with the optical axis. The secondary condensing lens refracts the light incident to the secondary condensing lens to concentrate the same in one point.

Description

High-brightness light source device{ HIGH BRIGHTNESS LIGHT SOURCE DEVICE }

The present disclosure relates to a light source device with high luminance, and more particularly, to a light source device for condensing the output of at least one laser light source and/or the output of an LED light source in order to focus strong light on a very small area.

A microscope is a tool for magnifying a very small object using a lens, and the higher the magnification, the darker the brightness.

As an illumination device for a microscope, in the past, an arc lamp such as a halogen or a metal halide and a device for condensing light using a reflective mirror were mainly used, but there is a problem of low efficiency and heat generation of the arc lamp.

As the efficiency of the semiconductor light emitting device is improved, the case of adopting an LED (Light Emitting Diode) device as a microscope light source is increasing. Even in the semiconductor or machine vision inspection area, a microscopic optical system with high magnification is used to inspect the object to be inspected because it is very small (several micrometers).

In particular, in order to take an image while moving an object, very high brightness illumination is required for a very short exposure time within a few microseconds. As such, lighting for photographing a moving object cannot provide sufficient amount of light even if LED is used, so a strobe type light source using an arc lamp is mainly used.

However, there is a continuous demand for a more stable and long-lived light source due to the characteristics of the arc lamp, which fluctuates in brightness and the lifespan when the arc lamp is photographed using the strobe method.

Recently, in order to replace the arc lamp, a technology that uses a high-power blue laser diode (Laser Diode) to irradiate the laser light generated from the light source to the phosphor in a very narrow area and to generate the broad spectrum light generated by the excitation of the phosphor has been developed. It has also been introduced.

Registered Patent Publication No. 10-15847920000 (Light source device for endoscope)

The present disclosure provides a high-brightness light source device for condensing light output from a plurality of light sources using a plurality of condensing lenses.

Objects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned purposes, and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure that are not mentioned may be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by examples of the present disclosure. Moreover, it will be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the claims.

In the light source device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a primary condensing lens, a secondary condensing lens having the same optical axis as the primary condensing lens, and having a smaller aperture than the primary condensing lens, and light parallel to the optical axis It includes a plurality of laser light sources to output and a fluorescent plate. The primary condensing lens refracts the light output from the plurality of laser light sources to be incident on one region of the fluorescent plate, and when the light incident on the region of the fluorescent plate is reflected from the fluorescent plate, the reflected light It is refracted to be incident on the secondary condensing lens parallel to the optical axis, and the secondary condensing lens refracts the light incident on the secondary condensing lens and collects it at a point.

The light source device further includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) light source disposed adjacent to the fluorescent plate and emitting light in a direction of the fluorescent plate. In this case, the primary condensing lens refracts the light output from the LED light source and passing through the fluorescent plate so that the light is parallel to the optical axis, and the secondary condensing lens is output from the LED light source to the 1 The light refracted through the primary condensing lens may be further refracted and collected to the point.

The light source device may further include a mirror disposed adjacent to the fluorescent plate and disposed in a direction opposite to the primary condensing lens with respect to the fluorescent plate.

The plurality of laser light sources may be disposed on a plane perpendicular to the optical axis so that a straight line distance from the optical axis is the same. In addition, the light output from the plurality of laser light sources passes through a plane perpendicular to the optical axis and including the central point of the secondary condensing lens without incident on the secondary condensing lens, and then is incident on the primary condensing lens. can be

When light of a first wavelength is incident, the fluorescent plate may convert the wavelength of the incident light into a second wavelength longer than the first wavelength and output the converted light.

On the other hand, the light output from the plurality of laser light sources is incident on a first area far away from the optical axis among the entire area of the primary condensing lens, and the light reflected from the fluorescent plate is The incident light may be incident to a second area having a short distance from the optical axis among the entire area.

The light source device according to the present disclosure has an advantage in that it is possible to intensively provide high-brightness light to a narrow area or a very small area based on condensing output light of one or more laser light sources and LED light sources.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a light source device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
2 is a view for explaining the arrangement of each component included in the light source device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
3 is a flowchart illustrating a path of light output from a laser light source of a light source device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
4 is a view for explaining the arrangement of each component of a light source device including an LED light source according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
5 is a view for explaining an operation of an LED light source driving a plurality of laser light sources for each group according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Prior to describing the present disclosure in detail, a description will be given of the description of the present specification and drawings.

First, terms used in the present specification and claims have been selected in consideration of functions in various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, these terms may vary depending on the intention or legal or technical interpretation of a person skilled in the art, and the emergence of new technology. Also, some terms are arbitrarily selected by the applicant. These terms may be interpreted in the meaning defined in the present specification, and if there is no specific term definition, it may be interpreted based on the general content of the present specification and common technical knowledge in the art.

Also, the same reference numerals or reference numerals in each drawing attached to this specification indicate parts or components that perform substantially the same functions. For convenience of description and understanding, the same reference numerals or reference numerals are used in different embodiments. That is, even though all components having the same reference number are illustrated in a plurality of drawings, the plurality of drawings do not mean one embodiment.

In addition, in this specification and claims, terms including an ordinal number, such as "first" and "second", may be used to distinguish between elements. This ordinal number is used to distinguish the same or similar elements from each other, and the meaning of the term should not be construed as limited due to the use of the ordinal number. For example, the components combined with such an ordinal number should not be limited in the order of use or arrangement by the number. If necessary, each ordinal number may be used interchangeably.

In this specification, the singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, terms such as "comprises" or "consisting of" are intended to designate that the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification exist, and are intended to indicate that one or more other It is to be understood that this does not preclude the possibility of addition or presence of features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, terms such as “module”, “unit”, “part”, etc. are terms for designating a component that performs at least one function or operation, and such component is hardware or software. It may be implemented or implemented as a combination of hardware and software. In addition, a plurality of "modules", "units", "parts", etc. are integrated into at least one module or chip, except when each needs to be implemented as individual specific hardware, and thus at least one processor. can be implemented as

In addition, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, when a part is connected to another part, this includes not only direct connection but also indirect connection through another medium. In addition, the meaning that a certain part includes a certain component means that other components may be further included without excluding other components unless otherwise stated.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a light source device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the light source device 100 may include one or more laser light sources 110 , a primary condensing lens 120 - 1 , a secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 , a fluorescent plate 130 , and the like. .

The light source device 100 may be included in microscope equipment, semiconductor inspection equipment, a camera, a magnifying glass, and the like, and may be used in various equipment for providing high-brightness light to a microscopic area.

The laser light source 110 may include at least one laser diode, a collimator/lens (ex. collimator lens) for generating parallel light, etc., and at least one driver for supplying current to the laser diode. can

The laser diode may generate a laser by using a forward semiconductor junction as an active medium, and may be made of GaAs as an example, but is not limited thereto.

The light source device 100 may include a plurality of laser light sources. In this case, each of the plurality of laser light sources may output light traveling in a direction parallel to each other.

The primary condensing lens 120-1 and the secondary condensing lens 120-2 correspond to condensing lenses sequentially arranged on the same optical axis.

The primary condensing lens 120-1 and the secondary condensing lens 120-2 may each include one or more lenses, and may include a planar convex lens, a biconvex lens, and the like.

The aperture of the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 may be larger than that of the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 .

The (laser) light output from the above-described laser light source 110 may travel in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the condensing lenses 120 - 1 and 2 .

When the light source device 100 includes a plurality of laser light sources, the linear distances of each of the plurality of laser light sources with respect to the above-described optical axis may be the same, and the light output from the plurality of laser light sources is directed in a direction parallel to the above-described optical axis. can proceed to

The fluorescent plate 130 refers to a plate having a fluorescent material on its surface.

The fluorescent plate may include a substrate, a reflector, a fluorescent film, and the like. For example, the substrate may be formed of a plastic plate, and the reflector may be formed of a conductive net, a thin film, and/or a dielectric. In addition, the fluorescent film may be coated with Ce:YAG (Yttrium/Aluminum/Garnet coated with Cerium) or a silicate phosphor. However, the configuration of the fluorescent plate does not need to be limited to the above-described examples and may have a configuration according to various conventional techniques.

The fluorescent plate 130 may absorb the incident high-energy light and convert it into low-energy light. Specifically, the fluorescent plate 130 may reflect or transmit light of a short wavelength by converting it into light of a long wavelength.

The fluorescent plate 130 may include a mirror on the rear side or may be installed adjacent to the LED light source. Alternatively, the LED light source may be implemented to include the fluorescent plate 130 .

Hereinafter, the arrangement of the above-described components in the light source device 100 and the path of light will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 3 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 and the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 may be sequentially disposed on the same optical axis.

In addition, the plurality of laser light sources 110 - 1 and 2 may be disposed on a plane perpendicular to the optical axis so that the linear distance from the optical axis is the same. Here, the linear distance from the optical axis may be greater than half the aperture of the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the fluorescent plate 130 may also be disposed on the above-described optical axis, and specifically, the order of the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 , the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 , and the fluorescent plate 130 . can be placed as

The light output from the plurality of laser light sources 110 - 1 and 2 may travel in a direction parallel to the optical axis ( S310 of FIG. 3 ).

In this case, the output light may be incident on the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 without passing through the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 .

Specifically, the light output from the plurality of laser light sources 110 - 1 and 2 passes through a plane that is perpendicular to the optical axis and includes the center point of the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 without incident on the secondary condensing lens. can do. In addition, the light passing through the plane may be incident on the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 .

That is, since the aperture of the primary condensing lens 120-1 is larger than that of the secondary condensing lens 120-2, the light output from the plurality of laser light sources 110-1 and 2 is directly transmitted to the primary condensing lens ( 120-1) can be entered.

In this case, the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 may refract the light output from the plurality of laser light sources and collect the output light onto one area of the fluorescent plate 130 ( S320 ).

Here, the fluorescent plate 130 may reflect the light incident through the primary condensing lens 120-1 (S330). To this end, at least one component for reflection may be included on the rear surface of the fluorescent plate 130 .

In an embodiment, a mirror disposed adjacent to the fluorescent plate 130 and disposed in a direction opposite (rear) of the primary condensing lens with respect to the fluorescent plate may be included in the light source device 100 .

Alternatively, at least one LED diode may be disposed adjacent to the rear surface of the fluorescent plate 130 .

The fluorescent plate 130 converts the wavelength of the incident light into a relatively longer wavelength (short wavelength -> long wavelength) and reflects it, and the long wavelength light reflected from the fluorescent plate 130 is again reflected by the first condensing lens 120-1 can be entered into

Here, referring to FIG. 2 , the light output from the plurality of laser light sources 110 - 1 and 2 is a relatively distant (outer) area from the optical axis among the entire area of the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 . On the other hand, the light reflected from the fluorescent plate 130 may be incident to an area (inner side) having a relatively close distance to the optical axis among the entire area of the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 .

In addition, the first condensing lens 120 - 1 may refract light (long wavelength) reflected from the fluorescent plate 130 and incident again ( S340 ). In this case, the light refracted again through the first condensing lens 120 - 1 may be incident on the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 in a direction parallel to the optical axis.

In addition, the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 may refract the incident light and collect it at one point ( S350 ).

According to the above-described embodiment, since the light output from the plurality of laser light sources 110 - 1 and 2 is focused on one point, high luminance light can be provided to a narrow area.

On the other hand, although the case of two laser light sources is illustrated in FIG. 2 described above, it goes without saying that one or more laser light sources having the same shortest distance to the optical axis may be additionally provided.

Meanwhile, FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the arrangement of each component of a light source device including an LED light source according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the light source device 100 may further include an LED light source 140 , a heat sink 150 , and the like in addition to the above-described components.

The LED light source 140 may be disposed adjacent to the fluorescent plate 130 , and may be positioned in a direction opposite to the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 with respect to the fluorescent plate 130 .

The LED light source 140 may include at least one light emitting diode (LED), a driving unit for providing current to the LED, and the like. Alternatively, the LED light source 140 may include at least one micro LED, an organic LED (OLED), or the like.

The LED light source 140 may include, for example, at least one LED for outputting blue light. In this case, the output blue light may be converted into white light through the fluorescent plate 130 coated with a phosphor (eg, yellow). Alternatively, the LED light source 140 may include R/G/B LEDs for outputting white light, respectively. However, it is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

The LED light source 140 may output light in the direction of the fluorescent plate (the direction of the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 ).

In this case, the light output from the LED light source 140 may pass through the fluorescent plate 130 and be incident on the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 .

Here, the light incident on the fluorescent plate 130 may be incident on the primary condensing lens 120 - 1 with a longer wavelength.

The primary condensing lens 120 - 1 may refract the light output from the LED light source 140 and passing through the fluorescent plate 130 to be parallel to the optical axis. As a result, the refracted light may be incident on the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 .

In this case, the secondary condensing lens 120 - 2 may further refract the incident light to collect the incident light at the aforementioned point.

As a result, the light output from the plurality of laser light sources 110 - 1 and 2 and the light output from the LED light source 140 are all gathered at one point, so that high luminance light can be provided.

The heat sink 150 is configured to emit heat from the LED light source 140 or the fluorescent plate. Referring to FIG. 4 , the heat sink 150 may be provided to contact the rear surface of the LED light source 140 .

The heat sink 150 may be implemented with metal, plastic, carbon, ceramic, or other polymer material having excellent thermal conductivity, but is not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, although not shown, the light source device 100 may include at least one control unit for controlling the driving of the plurality of laser light sources 110 - 1 and 2 and the LED light source 140 described above.

The controller may include at least one processor or a control circuit.

For example, the controller may drive the plurality of laser light sources 110 - 1 and 2 and the LED light source 140 according to a user input for operating at least one switch/button provided in the light source device 100 . However, the user input may be received in various other forms, and the user input may be received through at least one external device capable of wired/wireless communication with the light source device 100 .

The controller may control the intensity (brightness) of the light converged to the above-described point step by step.

In this case, the controller may differently adjust the number of laser light sources that output light for each luminance level.

As a specific example, when a user input for receiving the light of the first stage luminance is received, the controller may drive the LED light source 140 and one laser light source 110 - 1 to induce the light to be output.

When a user input for receiving light of two-step luminance is received, the control unit may drive the LED light source 140 and the two laser light sources 110 - 1 and 2 to output light.

In addition, the controller may classify the plurality of laser light sources into a plurality of groups and drive them for each luminance level.

In relation to this, FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a plurality of laser light sources arranged with respect to an optical axis as viewed from above.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the light source device 100 includes a plurality of laser light sources 110-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) may be included.

The plurality of laser light sources 110-1, 2, 3, ... may be divided into three groups.

The first group consists of the laser light sources 110-1, 2, 3, 4, the second group consists of the laser light sources 110-5, 6, 7, 8, and the third group consists of the laser light sources It is composed of the ones (110-9, 10, 11, 12).

Referring to FIG. 5 , each of the above-described groups may include a pair of laser light sources positioned opposite to each other with respect to an optical axis. In addition, the average (center of gravity) of the positions of the laser light sources constituting each group is matched to the position of the optical axis.

In this case, when a user input for receiving the light of the first stage luminance is received, the controller drives the LED light source 140 and the first group 110 - 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 to induce the light to be output. can

When a user input for receiving light of two-step luminance is received, the control unit includes the LED light source 140, the first group 110-1, 2, 3, 4, and the second group 110-5, 6, 7, 8) can be driven to induce light output.

When a user input for receiving light of three-step luminance is received, the control unit includes the LED light source 140, the first group 110-1, 2, 3, 4, and the second group 110-5, 6, 7 , 8), and the third group 110 - 9 , 10 , 11 , and 12 may be driven to induce light output.

As such, when the light output is added to each group consisting of laser light sources facing each other with respect to the optical axis, there is an advantage that the uniformity of the light provided by the light source device 100 can be relatively consistently maintained.

Meanwhile, the controller may sequentially drive each group according to the driving time of each group described above.

For example, when the first group 110-1, 2, 3, 4 is continuously driven for a threshold time or longer, the control unit deactivates the first group and activates the second group 110-5, 6, 7, and 8. It can be driven to output light.

Here, after the second group 110-5, 6, 7, and 8 are also continuously driven for a threshold time or longer, the controller deactivates the first group and the second group, and the third group 110-9, 10, 11 , 12) can be driven to output light.

Alternatively, the controller may divide the total time during which the light source device 100 provides light into a plurality of time intervals, and drive one group for each divided time interval.

For example, during the first time period, the first group 110-1, 2, 3, 4 is driven, and during the second time period, the second group 110-5, 6, 7, 8 is driven, During the third time period, driving of each group may be sequentially activated, such as driving the third groups 110 - 9 , 10 , 11 , and 12 .

In this case, since the rest period of the laser light source included in each group is guaranteed, there is a management advantage that the aging of the laser light source may be delayed. In addition, there is an advantage that inspection/repair of each laser light source is possible during the rest period of each laser light source.

Meanwhile, the various embodiments described above may be implemented by combining a plurality of embodiments as long as they do not conflict with each other.

On the other hand, although preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the technical field belonging to the present disclosure without departing from the gist of the present disclosure as claimed in the claims Various modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or perspective of the present disclosure.

100: light source device 110, 110-1, 110-2: laser light source
120-1: primary condensing lens 120-2: secondary condensing lens
130: fluorescent plate

Claims (6)

In the light source device,
primary condensing lens;
a secondary condensing lens having the same optical axis as the primary condensing lens and having a smaller aperture than the primary condensing lens;
a plurality of laser light sources outputting light parallel to the optical axis; and
Including; a fluorescent plate;
The primary condensing lens,
The light output from the plurality of laser light sources is refracted to be incident on one region of the fluorescent plate. When the light incident on the region of the fluorescent plate is reflected from the fluorescent plate, the reflected light is refracted to be parallel to the optical axis. to be incident on the secondary condensing lens,
The secondary condensing lens,
A light source device that refracts the light incident on the secondary condensing lens and collects it at a point. According to claim 1,
The light source device,
Further comprising; a light emitting diode (LED) light source disposed adjacent to the fluorescent plate and emitting light in the direction of the fluorescent plate;
The primary condensing lens,
refracting the light output from the LED light source and passing through the fluorescent plate to be parallel to the optical axis,
The secondary condensing lens,
and further refracting the light output from the LED light source and refracted through the primary condensing lens to collect the light at the point. According to claim 1,
The light source device,
and a mirror disposed adjacent to the fluorescent plate and disposed in a direction opposite to the primary condensing lens with respect to the fluorescent plate. According to claim 1,
The plurality of laser light sources,
On a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, the linear distance from the optical axis is the same as each other,
The light output from the plurality of laser light sources is
The light source device, which passes through a plane perpendicular to the optical axis and including the central point of the secondary condensing lens without incident on the secondary condensing lens, and then is incident on the primary condensing lens. According to claim 1,
The fluorescent plate is
When light of a first wavelength is incident, the light source device converts the wavelength of the incident light into a second wavelength longer than the first wavelength and outputs the converted light. According to claim 1,
The light output from the plurality of laser light sources is
Among the entire area of the primary condensing lens, it is incident on a first area that is far from the optical axis,
The light reflected from the fluorescent plate is
The light source device is incident on a second region having a close distance to the optical axis among the entire region of the primary condensing lens.

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