Optical beam delivery system

• US 5,319,496 A
• Filed: 11/18/1992
• Issued: 06/07/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Optical Communication Products Incorporated (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Photonic Research (Photonic Electronic Limited)
• Inventors: Jewell, Jack L., Olbright, Greg R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ben, Loha
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAPALAS, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US07/978,391
• Time in Patent Office: 566 Days
• Field of Search: 359/619, 359/621, 359/622, 359/625, 359/626, 359/737, 359/741, 359/742, 359/743
• US Class Current: 359/741
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0905 Dividing and/or superposing multiple light beams
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0961 Lens arrays lens arrays per se G02B3/0006
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/123 The splitting element being a lens or a system of lenses, including arrays and surfaces with refractive power
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/32 Holograms used as optical elements

Abstract

The present invention is directed to an optical system which includes an image region having at least one light source which directs a beam of light along an optical axis and an object region which is adapted to receive the light from the light source. An optical delivery system is between the image region and object region. The optical delivery system receives the light from the image region and directs it to the object region. The optical delivery system is formed of a plurality of optical elements, such as lenses and volume holograms. The optical delivery system is designed to either receive a plurality of beams of light from a plurality of sources or different modes of a single light source and form a single spot of light in the image region having the combined power of all of the beams of light or modes of a single beam. The optical delivery system can also condense or expand the spacing between the beams of light from a plurality of light sources. The optical delivery system is designed so that the Lagrange invariant thereof at the object region is different from the Lagrange invariant thereof at the image region.

Claims

1. An optical system comprising:

an object region having at least one light source which is adapted to direct a beam of light along an optical axis with said light beam having one ray which has a maximum angle w_o with respect to said optical axis and another ray originating parallel to said optical axis of a maximum distance y_o rom said optical axis;

an image region having an array of separated light spots adapted to receive said light from said light source in said object region with the one ray crossing said optical axis in said image region at a maximum angle of w_i to said optical axis and said other ray passing through said image region parallel to said optical axis at a maximum distance y_i from said optical axis, y_o being different from y₁ ; and

an optical delivery system receiving the light from the light source of the object region and delivering the light to the image region with y_o w_o being different from y_i w_i.

2. An optical system in accordance with claim 1 wherein y_o w_o and y_i w_i are by at least 10%.

3. An optical system in accordance with claim 1 wherein y_o w_o and y_i w_i differ by a factor of at least 2.

4. An optical system in accordance with claim 1 in which each light source is a semiconductor device.

5. An optical system in accordance with claim 4 in which even light source is a laser diode.

6. An optical system in accordance with claim 5 in which each light source is a vertical cavity surface emitting laser.

7. An optical system in accordance with claim 1 in which the optical delivery system comprises a lens.

8. An optical system in accordance with claim 7 in which the lens has a plurality of individual micro lenses with each micro lens being adapted to receive the light beam from a separate one of the light sources or to focus the light beam to a separate one of the light spots.

9. An optical system in accordance with claim 8 in which each of the micro lenses is shaped to collimate the beam of light received from its respective light source.

10. An optical system in accordance with claim 8 in which the optical delivery system includes means for altering the spacing between said beams of light from said light sources so that at said image region said beams of light are closer together than they are at said object region.

11. An optical system in accordance with claim 10 in which said lens includes means for directing said beams of light from said object region toward or away from each other so that they are closer to or farther from each other at a plane spaced from said lens and means along said plane for directing said beams of light parallel to said optical axis into said image region.

12. An optical system in accordance with claim 11 in which the means on the lens for directing the beams of light toward or away from each other comprises a plurality of prismlets each of which is adapted to receive light from a separate one of the micro lenses.

13. An optical system in accordance with claim 12 in which the means along the plane comprises a second lens having means on the surface facing the first lens for directing all of the light beams substantially parallel to the optical axis and means on a surface facing the image region for focusing the beam of light from each light source to a small spot in the image region with the spots being spaced apart a distance less than the spacing between the light sources.

14. An optical system in accordance with claim 13 in which the means on the second lens for directing the beams of light parallel to the optical axis comprises a plurality of prismlets each adapted to receive a beam of light from a separate light source.

15. An optical system in accordance with claim 14 in which the means on the second lens for focusing the beams of light comprises a plurality of micro lenses.

16. An optical system in accordance with claim 11 in which the lens including means for directing the beams of light toward or away from each other comprises a first macro lens surface.

17. An optical system in accordance with claim 16 in which the means along the plane comprises a second lens having means on the surface facing the first lens for directing all of the light beams substantially parallel to the optical axis and means on a surface facing the image region for focusing the beam of light from each light source to a small spot in the image region with the spots being spaced apart a distance less than the spacing between the light sources.

18. An optical system in accordance with claim 17 in which the means on the second lens for directing the beams of light parallel to the optical axis comprises a second macro lens surface adapted to receive a beam of light from a separate light source.

19. An optical system in accordance with claim 18 in which the means on the second lens for focusing the beams of light comprises a plurality of micro lenses.

20. An optical system in accordance with claim 1 which comprises a plurality of optical systems whose respective object regions are within a common planar area and whose respective image regions are in another common planar area.