Light source with tailored output spectrum
First Claim
1. A light source assembly comprising:
- a filter assembly including at least one optical filter;
a light generator that generates a broadband generator beam that is transferred to the filter assembly to create a filtered generator beam; and
an amplifier that receives the filtered generator beam and creates an amplified beam.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A light source assembly (10) for a precision apparatus (11) includes a broadband light generator (12), an amplifier (14), and an optical filter (16). The light generator (12) generates a generator beam (22) that is directed at the amplifier (14). The amplifier (14) provides an amplified beam (24) by amplifying the generator beam (22). The optical filter (16) filters both the generator beam (22) and the amplified beam (24) so that an output beam (20) has a specific spectral width and a specific center wavelength, and so that the power available from the amplifier is concentrated within the desired spectrum. With this design, the light source assembly (10) can provide an output beam (20) having a spectrum determined by the filter and power which is not strongly dependent on the spectrum. For example, the output can have a specific, relatively narrow spectral width and a specific center wavelength, with sufficient power for use in precision measurement systems (11). Additionally, the output beam (20) can have sufficient spectral width to eliminate unwanted interference effects.
60 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A light source assembly comprising:
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a filter assembly including at least one optical filter; a light generator that generates a broadband generator beam that is transferred to the filter assembly to create a filtered generator beam; and an amplifier that receives the filtered generator beam and creates an amplified beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A light source assembly comprising:
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a filter assembly including at least one optical filter; a light generator that generates a broadband generator beam that is transferred to the filter assembly to create a filtered generator beam; and a double pass amplifier that receives the filtered generator beam and creates an amplified beam that is transferred to the optical filter to create a transmitted beam, wherein the generator beam and the amplified beam are both filtered by the same optical filter. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method directing an output beam at a device, the method comprising the steps of:
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generating a broadband generator beam with a light generator; filtering the generator beam with a filter assembly to create a filtered generator beam, the filter assembly including at least one optical filter; and amplifying the filtered generator beam with an amplifier to create an amplified beam. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification