Laser beamsplitter for generating a plurality of parallel beams
First Claim
1. An interferometer comprisinga laser reference source,a primary beamsplitter,a fixed mirror,a movable mirror,a system for detecting variations in alignment between said fixed mirror and said movable mirror including three detectors located adjacent to a laser beam output field and arranged at the vertices of a triangle,a laser beamsplitter,said laser beamsplitter comprisinga first beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a first partially coated face and a second partially coated face parallel to each other,a second beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a third partially coated face and a fourth partially coated face parallel to each other,said first beamsplitter being positioned such that an incident beam entering said first beamsplitter is split into a first beam and a second beam parallel to each other, andsaid second beamsplitter being positioned relative to said first beamsplitter such that at least one of said first beam and said second beam enters said second beam splitter and is split into a third beam and a fourth beam parallel to each other and to said second beam.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A laser beamsplitter for generating a plurality of parallel beams comprises a first beamsplitter and a second beamsplitter. The first and second beamsplitters are manufactured from glass flats having precisely parallel faces, wherein the front surface is coated with a reflective coating and the back surface is coated with a beamsplitter coating such that an initial laser beam passing through the first beamsplitter at a preferred angle of incidence is split into a first beam and a second beam. The second beamsplitter is positioned relative to the first beamsplitter such that the first beam passes through the second beamsplitter and is split into a third beam and a fourth beam. The parallelism of the output beams are determined by the parallelism of the glass flats, and no manual adjustments need to be made. The second, third, and fourth beams, if shone onto a surface orthogonal to the path of the initial beam, display three points that define a triangle, and preferably an equilateral triangle. The coatings on the surfaces of the first and second beamsplitters are chosen to provide three output beams having substantially the same intensity.
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Citations
51 Claims
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1. An interferometer comprising
a laser reference source, a primary beamsplitter, a fixed mirror, a movable mirror, a system for detecting variations in alignment between said fixed mirror and said movable mirror including three detectors located adjacent to a laser beam output field and arranged at the vertices of a triangle, a laser beamsplitter, said laser beamsplitter comprising a first beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a first partially coated face and a second partially coated face parallel to each other, a second beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a third partially coated face and a fourth partially coated face parallel to each other, said first beamsplitter being positioned such that an incident beam entering said first beamsplitter is split into a first beam and a second beam parallel to each other, and said second beamsplitter being positioned relative to said first beamsplitter such that at least one of said first beam and said second beam enters said second beam splitter and is split into a third beam and a fourth beam parallel to each other and to said second beam.
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14. A spectrometer comprising
an infrared light source, a laser reference source, a primary beamsplitter, a fixed mirror, a movable mirror, a system for detecting variations in alignment between said fixed mirror and said movable mirror including three detectors located adjacent to a laser beam output field and arranged at the vertices of a triangle, a laser beamsplitter, said laser beamsplitter comprising a first beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a first partially coated face and a second partially coated face parallel to each other, a second beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a third partially coated face and a fourth partially coated face parallel to each other, said first beamsplitter being positioned such that an incident beam entering said first beamsplitter is split into a first beam and a second beam parallel to each other, and said second beamsplitter being positioned relative to said first beamsplitter such that at least one of said first beam and said second beam enters said second beamsplitter and is split into a third beam and a fourth beam parallel to each other and to said second beam.
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27. An interferometer comprising
a laser reference source, a primary beamsplitter, a fixed mirror, a movable mirror, a system for detecting variations in alignment between said fixed mirror and said movable mirror including three detectors located adjacent to a laser beam output field and arranged at the vertices of a triangle, a laser beamsplitter for splitting an incident beam into at least three parallel beams comprising a first beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a first face and a second face parallel to each other, a first portion of said first face coated with a reflective coating and a second portion of said first face not coated with said reflective coating, said first face positioned such that an incident beam enters said first beamsplitter through said second portion of said first face, a first portion of said second face coated with a beamsplitting coating and a second portion of said second face not coated with said beamsplitting coating, said second face positioned such that said incident beam is partially transmitted through said first portion of said second face and out of said first beamsplitter as said first beam, and partially reflected back toward said first portion of said first face and then reflected by said first portion of said first face out of said first beamsplitter through said second portion of said second face as said second beam parallel to said first beam, a second beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a third face and a fourth face parallel to each other, a first portion of said third face coated with a reflective coating and a second portion of said third face not coated with said reflective coating, said third face positioned such that at least one of said first beam and said second beam enters said second beamsplitter through said second portion of said third face, a first portion of said fourth face coated with a beamsplitting coating and a second portion of said fourth face not coated with said beamsplitting coating, said fourth face positioned such that the beam entering said second beamsplitter is partially transmitted through said first portion of said fourth face and out of said beamsplitter as a third beam, and partially reflected back toward said first portion of said third face and then reflected by said first portion of said third face out of said first beamsplitter through said second portion of said second face as said fourth beam, and said first beamsplitter and said second beamsplitter positioned relative to each other and oriented such that at least one of said first and said second beams is positioned in a triangular relationship with said third beam and said fourth beam on an imaginary plane orthogonal to said incident beam.
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40. A spectrometer comprising
an infrared light source, a laser reference source, a primary beamsplitter, a fixed mirror, a movable mirror, a system for detecting variations in alignment between said fixed mirror and said movable mirror including three detectors located adjacent to a laser beam output field and arranged at the vertices of a triangle, a laser beamsplitter for splitting an incident beam into at least three parallel beams comprising a first beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a first face and a second face parallel to each other, a first portion of said first face coated with a reflective coating and a second portion of said first face not coated with said reflective coating, said first face positioned such that an incident beam enters said first beamsplitter through said second portion of said first face, a first portion of said second face coated with a beamsplitting coating and a second portion of said second face not coated with said beamsplitting coating, said second face positioned such that said incident beam is partially transmitted through said first portion of said second face and out of said first beamsplitter as said first beam, and partially reflected back toward said first portion of said first face and then reflected by said first portion of said first face out of said first beamsplitter through said second portion of said second face as said second beam parallel to said first beam, a second beamsplitter comprising an optical flat having a third face and a fourth face parallel to each other, a first portion of said third face coated with a reflective coating and a second portion of said third face not coated with said reflective coating, said third face positioned such that at least one of said first beam and said second beam enters said second beamsplitter through said second portion of said third face, a first portion of said fourth face coated with a beamsplitting coating and a second portion of said fourth face not coated with said beamsplitting coating, said fourth face positioned such that the beam entering said second beamsplitter is partially transmitted through said first portion of said fourth face and out of said beamsplitter as a third beam, and partially reflected back toward said first portion of said third face and then reflected by said first portion of said third face out of said first beamsplitter through said second portion of said second face as said fourth beam, and said first beamsplitter and said second beamsplitter positioned relative to each other and oriented such that at least one of said first and said second beams is positioned in a triangular relationship with said third beam and said fourth beam on an imaginary plane orthogonal to said incident beam.
Specification