Method for producing an optical component, optical component produced according to the method and devices comprising such components

• US 8,062,753 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2005
• Issued: 11/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schott AG (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: Schott AG (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Inventors: Schreder, Bianca, Zimmer, Jose, Pawlowski, Edgar
• Primary Examiner(s): McNeil; Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROBINSON, LAUREN E
• Application Number:
  US11/323,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20060171033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,153 Days
• Field of Search: 428/426, 428/221, 430/290, 430/321, 430/945, 385/123, 385/141
• US Class Current: 428/426
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00 Producing optical elements, e.g. lenses or prisms grinding or polishing of optical elements B24B; constructional form of optical elements G02B; optical parts of spectacles G02C7/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00769 Producing diffraction gratings
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2011/0075 Light guides, optical cables
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/1857 using exposure or etching means, e.g. holography, photolithography, exposure to electron or ion beams
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/005 Optical components external to the laser cavity, specially adapted therefor, e.g. for homogenisation or merging of the beams or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping H01S5/026, H01S5/18388 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0656 Seeding, i.e. an additional light input is provided for controlling the laser modes, for example by back-reflecting light from an external optical component H01S5/14, H01S5/4062 and H01S5/4006 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4031 Edge-emitting structures
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249921 Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component

Abstract

An optical component having a diffractive element and/or refractive element is provided. The optical component includes a photosensitive glass and/or a photosensitive glass ceramic and a plurality of structures influencing propagation of light in at least a part of the photosensitive glass and/or a photosensitive glass ceramic.

Claims

1. An optical component comprising:

a first optical element including a first photosensitive glass having a first transformation temperature and a plurality of structures, the plurality of structures influencing light propagation; and

a second optical element having a second glass having a second transformation temperature, the first transformation temperature having a higher value than the second transformation temperature,

the first photosensitive glass and the second glass being formed as a single composite element by heating the second optical element to a temperature above the second transformation temperature but below the first transformation temperature and to a temperature at which the second glass has a viscosity of less than 10¹⁰ dPa·

s and then pressing the first and second optical elements together with a pressure above atmospheric pressure while the second element has the viscosity of less than 10¹⁰ dPa·

s.

2. The optical component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of structures are formed by blank pressing followed by photostructuring.

3. The optical component according to claim 1, wherein the first photosensitive glass has a blank pressed surface.

4. The optical component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first photosensitive glass has refractive index changes.

5. The optical component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first photosensitive glass has a surface produced by pressing under the action of heat, and wherein the plurality of structures are produced by exposure.

6. The optical component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first photosensitive glass comprises an oxidic glass that has a transmission band in at least a portion of a visible spectral range.

7. The optical component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first photosensitive glass comprises a chalcogenide glass that has a transmission band in at least a portion of an infrared spectral range.

8. The optical component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first photosensitive glass comprises photosensitive alkali aluminosilicate glass.

9. The optical component as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first photosensitive glass is doped with Ag₂O and CeO₂.

10. The optical component as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first photosensitive glass comprises the following composition in weight percent:

11. The optical component as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first photosensitive glass comprises the following composition in weight percent:

12. The optical component as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first photosensitive glass comprises the following composition in weight percent:

13. The optical component as claimed in claim 8, further comprises sensitizers and/or activators for photostructuring.

14. The optical component as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first photosensitive glass further comprises photosensitive elements selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Au, and Ce³⁺.

15. The optical component as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first photosensitive glass further comprises halides for photostructuring selected from group consisting of F, Br, Cl, and I.

16. The optical component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first photosensitive glass has a refractive index modulation of at least 10⁻

4.

17. The optical component as claimed in claim 16, wherein the refractive index modulation is generated by a process selected from the group consisting of laser structuring, UV laser structuring, and fs IR laser structuring.

18. The optical component as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fast axis collimating lens and a first diffractive optical element, wherein said first diffractive optical element is defined at least in part by a refractive index modulation of the first photosensitive glass.

19. The optical component as claimed in claim 18, wherein the fast axis collimating lens comprises a cylinder lens having a refractive optical element.

20. The optical component as claimed in claim 19, further comprising a second diffractive optical element arranged on the refractive optical element.

21. The optical component as claimed in claim 20, wherein the second diffractive optical element is arranged in a plane lying opposite a refractive surface of the refractive optical element.

22. The optical component as claimed in claim 21, wherein the first and/or second diffractive elements together with the refractive surface defines an aspherical cylinder lens.

23. The optical component as claimed in claim 19, further comprising a diffractive element for the production of a multi-lens imaging system.

24. The optical component as claimed in claim 18, wherein the fast axis collimating lens comprises a cylinder lens having an aspherical surface.

25. The optical component as claimed in claim 24, wherein the cylinder lens is a fast axis collimating lens assigned to at least one semiconductor laser in a semiconductor array.