MODULATING A WORKING BEAM OF AN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING MACHINE WITH A SOLID-STATE OPTICAL MODULATOR

• Main Authors: Bechmann, Florian, Zimmermann, Maik
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 01.02.2023
• Subjects: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY; ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OFTHREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVEAGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING,STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING; CASTING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS, THE OPTICAL OPERATION OF WHICH ISMODIFIED BY CHANGING THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIUM OF THEDEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF THE INTENSITY,COLOUR, PHASE, POLARISATION OR DIRECTION OF LIGHT, e.g.SWITCHING, GATING, MODULATING OR DEMODULATING; FREQUENCY-CHANGING; MACHINE TOOLS; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; POWDER METALLURGY; SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; TECHNIQUES OR PROCEDURES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF; TRANSPORTING; WELDING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM; WORKING METALLIC POWDER

An irradiation device (142) for an apparatus for additively manufacturing three-dimensional object (114), the irradiation device (142) comprising:a working beam generation device (200) configured to provide a working beam (206);a modulation beam generation device (202) configured to provide a modulation beam (208);a solid-state optical modulator (204) comprising a crystalline material (214) that exhibits a change in refractive index in response to photoexcitation of free electrons (216) within the crystalline material (214); anda power source (218) coupled to the solid-state optical modulator (204), the power source (218) configured to introduce free electrons (216) into the crystalline material (214);wherein the modulation beam (208), when incident upon the crystalline material (214), causes photoexcitation of the free electrons (216) within the crystalline material (214), and the photoexcitation of the free electrons (216) within the crystalline material (214) causes the crystalline material (214) to exhibit the change in refractive index; andwherein the working beam (206), when incident upon the crystalline material (214), undergoes a phase shift attributable at least in part to the change in refractive index exhibited by the crystalline material (214).