Method and apparatus for temporal and spatial beam integration
First Claim
1. In a laser system having a collimated laser beam with an axis, a laser beam delivery apparatus for temporally and spatially integrating the laser beam, said apparatus comprising:
- a temporal beam integrator for rotating said beam about the axis thereof, said temporal beam integrator comprising a pair of cylindrical lenses arranged in spaced relationship along the axis of the collimated laser beam, the cylindrical axes of said cylindrical lenses being substantially aligned and the beam emerging from the lenses along a path, and first means for rotating said cylindrical lenses about the beam axis in unison so that a beam passing through said pair of cylindrical lenses is rotated about the beam axis;
a spatial beam integrator positioned in the path of the beam emerging from said pair of cylindrical lenses; and
means for providing relative rotation between said spatial beam integrator and said beam.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing sequential temporal and spatial integration of a collimated non-symmetrical excimer laser beam to optimize the temporal and spatial characteristics of the beam. The temporal integrator comprises a pair of cylindrical lenses spaced along the beam axis by a distance substantially equal to the sum of the focal length of both lenses, and a motor mechanism for rotating the two spaced cylindrical lenses about the beam axis. The spatial beam integrator includes a plurality of prisms distributed about a hollow center, the outlet face of each prism being angled with respect to the body axis of the spatial beam integrator so that portions of the laser beam passing through a given prism are refracted towards the center upon emergence from the outlet face. The spatial beam integrator is preferably rotated about the beam axis at twice the rotation rate of the cylindrical lenses so that the rotated beam emerging from the temporal beam integrator is stationary with respect to the spatial beam integrator. Alternatively, the spatial beam integrator may be rotated at the same rate as the cylindrical lenses, or may be maintained stationary, i.e., not rotated at all.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. In a laser system having a collimated laser beam with an axis, a laser beam delivery apparatus for temporally and spatially integrating the laser beam, said apparatus comprising:
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a temporal beam integrator for rotating said beam about the axis thereof, said temporal beam integrator comprising a pair of cylindrical lenses arranged in spaced relationship along the axis of the collimated laser beam, the cylindrical axes of said cylindrical lenses being substantially aligned and the beam emerging from the lenses along a path, and first means for rotating said cylindrical lenses about the beam axis in unison so that a beam passing through said pair of cylindrical lenses is rotated about the beam axis; a spatial beam integrator positioned in the path of the beam emerging from said pair of cylindrical lenses; and means for providing relative rotation between said spatial beam integrator and said beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification