Cylindrical quasi-cavity waveguide for static wide angle pattern projection

Beam deflection methods such as rotary mirrors and motorized turning optical heads suffer from a variety of electro-mechanical related problems which affect laser scanning performance. These include wobble, jitter, wear, windage and synchronization issues. A novel optical structure consisting of two...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOptics express Vol. 15; no. 6; pp. 3023 - 3030
Main Authors Sahba, Kaveh, Alameh, Kamal E, Smith, Clifton L, Paap, Arie
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 19.03.2007
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Summary:Beam deflection methods such as rotary mirrors and motorized turning optical heads suffer from a variety of electro-mechanical related problems which affect laser scanning performance. These include wobble, jitter, wear, windage and synchronization issues. A novel optical structure consisting of two concentric and cylindrical interfaces with unique optical coating properties for the static projection of a laser spot array over a wide angle is demonstrated. The resulting ray trajectory through the waveguide is modeled using linear equations. Spot size growth is modeled using previously defined ray transfer matrices for tilted optical elements. The model is validated by comparison with experimental spot size measurements for 20 transmitted beams. This novel form of spot projection can be used as the projection unit in optical sensing devices which range to multiple laser footprints.
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ISSN:1094-4087
1094-4087
DOI:10.1364/OE.15.003023