METHOD FOR COATING AN OPTICAL COMPONENT FOR A LASER ARRANGEMENT AND RELATED OPTICAL COMPONENT

• US 20090027776A1
• Filed: 07/02/2008
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Carl Zeiss Laser Optics Gmbh (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: Carl Zeiss Laser Optics Gmbh (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Inventors: Weigl, Bernhard, Schall, Michael, Erzin, Eral, Erxmeyer, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US12/166,657
• Publication Number:
  US 20090027776A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/571
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1861 Reflection gratings characterised by their structure, e.g. step profile, contours of substrate or grooves, pitch variations, materials G02B5/1809, G02B5/1828, G02B5/1833, G02B5/1838 and G02B5/1847 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/285 comprising deposited thin solid films G02B5/281 - G02B5/289 take precedence; multilayered film filters for fibre optic multiplexing G02B6/29361
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24686 Pleats or otherwise parallel adjacent folds
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2495 Thickness [relative or absolute]

Abstract

A method for coating an optical component comprises providing the optical component. The optical component has a surface formed with parallel, periodically structured surface sections each having a first flank and a second flank. The first flank and the second flank of each surface section are furthermore inclined with respect to one another, and the first flank is formed such that it is smaller than the second flank. The method furthermore comprises at least partly applying a coating to at least the first flank of each surface section. The surface coating has a metal layer and a dielectric multilayer and the metal layer is applied before the dielectric multilayer. The second flank is not coated or is coated with a layer thickness that is formed such that it is smaller than a layer thickness of the surface coating of the first flank.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing an optical component, a surface of the optical component being formed with parallel, periodically structured surface sections, each surface section having a first flank and a second flank, the first and second flanks of each surface section being inclined with respect to one another, and the first flank of each surface section being smaller than the second flank of the surface section; and

applying a coating to at least part of the first flank of each surface section, the coating including a metal layer and a dielectric multilayer, the metal layer being applied before the dielectric multilayer, and the second flank being uncoated or coated with a layer thickness that is smaller than a layer thickness of the coating of the first flank.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the coating is applied to the surface sections by electron beam evaporation.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising delimiting vapor-deposition beams with at least one diaphragm between the optical component and a material source for the coating.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the coating is applied at room temperature.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal layer comprises aluminum.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the dielectric multilayer comprises a plurality of first layers including a first material and a plurality of second layers including second material, the first and second layers being in an alternating sequence.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the dielectric multilayer comprises four of the first layers and four of the second layers.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein a thickness of each of the first layers is approximately twice as much as a thickness of each of the second layers.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein a first applied layer of the plurality of first layers has a thickness that is approximately the same as a thickness of one of the plurality of second layers.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the metal layer is approximately twice as thick as one of the plurality of first layers.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the first material comprises Na₅Al₃F₁₄ and the second material comprises Al₂O₃.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a last layer of the dielectric multilayer comprises Al₂O₃.

13. A method, comprising:

providing an optical component, a surface of the optical component having parallel, periodically structured surface sections, each surface section having first and second flanks, the first and second flanks of each surface section being inclined with respect to one another, and the first flank of each surface section being smaller than the second flank of the surface section; and

applying a coating to at least part of the first flank of each surface section, the coating including a metal layer and a dielectric multilayer, the metal layer being applied before the dielectric multilayer,

wherein applying the coating comprises coating the part of the first flank at an angle ε

that is less than 10°

relative to a surface normal of the first flank.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein applying the coating further comprises coating a part of the second flank at an angle η

greater than 85°

relative to a surface normal of the second flank.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the angle ε

is less than 5°

.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the angle η

is greater than 90°

.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising altering a tilt angle δ

of the optical component with respect to a horizontal to set the angle ε

.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein at most 30% of the first flank is uncoated.

19. A component, comprising:

an optical component configured to select a wavelength for a laser arrangement, the optical component having a surface with parallel, periodically structured surface sections, each surface section having first and second flanks inclined relative to each another, the first flank of each surface section being smaller than the second flank of the surface section, the first flank of each surface section being at least partially coated with a coating that comprises a metal layer and a dielectric multilayer supported by the metal layer, and the second flank being uncoated or having a coating that is less thick than the coating of the first flank.

20. The optical component of claim 19, wherein at most 30% of the first flank is uncoated.

21. The optical component of claim 19, wherein the metal layer comprises aluminum.

22. The optical component of claim 19, wherein the dielectric multilayer has a plurality of first layers comprising a first material and a plurality of second layers comprising a second material, the first and second layers arranged in an alternating sequence.

23. The optical component of claim 22, wherein the dielectric multilayer comprises four of the first layers and four of the second layers.

24. The optical component of claim 22, wherein a thickness of each of the first layers is approximately twice as much as a thickness of each of the second layers.

25. The optical component of claim 22, wherein a first applied layer of the plurality of first layers has a thickness that is approximately the same as a thickness of one of the plurality of second layers.

26. The optical component of claim 22, wherein the metal layer is approximately twice as thick as one of the plurality of first layers.

27. The optical component of claim 22, wherein the first material comprises Na₅Al₃F₁₄ and the second material comprises Al₂O₃.

28. The optical component of claim 19, wherein a last layer of the multilayer comprises Al₂O₃.

29. The optical component of claim 19, wherein the optical component is an Echelle grating.

30. The optical component of claim 19, wherein the first flank is a blaze flank and the second flank is an antiblaze flank.

34. An arrangement, comprising

a laser arrangement configured to generate a light beam having a defined wavelength, the laser arrangement comprising the optical component of claim 19.

31. A component, comprising:

an optical component configured to select a wavelength for a laser arrangement, the optical component having a surface with parallel, periodically structured surface sections, each surface section having first and second flanks inclined relative to each other, the first flank of each surface section being smaller than the second flank of the surface section, the first flank of each surface section being at least partly coated with a coating, the coating comprising a metal layer and a dielectric multilayer supported by the metal layer, and a ratio of a thickness of the coating of the second flank to a thickness of the coating of the first flank being in a range from 0 to about ⅓

.

32. The optical component of claim 31, wherein the ratio is in a range from 0 to about ⅕

.

33. The optical component of claim 31, wherein the ratio is in a range from 0 to 1/10.