公开(公告)号：US11209664B2

公开(公告)日：2021-12-28

申请号：US15445560

申请日：2017-02-28

Applicant: NLIGHT, INC.

Inventor： Paul S. Banks ,  Bodo Schmidt ,  C. Stewart Tuvey ,  Lorenzo N. Venneri

IPC: G02B30/25 ,  G01S17/894 ,  H04N13/254 ,  H04N13/218 ,  H04N13/271 ,  H04N13/296 ,  G01S7/481 ,  G01S7/499 ,  G02B26/00 ,  G02B27/28 ,  G02F1/01 ,  H04N5/359

Abstract: A 3D imaging system includes an optical modulator for modulating a returned portion of a light pulse as a function of time. The returned light pulse portion is reflected or scattered from a scene for which a 3D image or video is desired. The 3D imaging system also includes an element array receiving the modulated light pulse portion and a sensor array of pixels, corresponding to the element array. The pixel array is positioned to receive light output from the element array. The element array may include an array of polarizing elements, each corresponding to one or more pixels. The polarization states of the polarizing elements can be configured so that time-of-flight information of the returned light pulse can be measured from signals produced by the pixel array, in response to the returned modulated portion of the light pulse.

公开(公告)号：US20210344160A1

公开(公告)日：2021-11-04

申请号：US17152670

申请日：2021-01-19

Applicant: NLIGHT, INC.

Inventor： Dahv A.V. Kliner ,  Roger L. Farrow

IPC: H01S3/067 ,  H01S3/08 ,  H01S3/094

Abstract: An optical apparatus includes one or more pump sources situated to provide laser pump light, and a gain fiber optically coupled to the one or more pump sources, the gain fiber including an actively doped core situated to produce an output beam, an inner cladding and outer cladding surrounding the doped core and situated to propagate pump light, and a polymer cladding surrounding the outer cladding and situated to guide a selected portion of the pump light coupled into the inner and outer claddings of the gain fiber. Methods of pumping a fiber sources include generating pump light from one or more pump sources, coupling the pump light into a glass inner cladding and a glass outer cladding of a gain fiber of the fiber source such that a portion of the pump light is guided by a polymer cladding surrounding the glass outer cladding, and generating a single-mode output beam from the gain fiber.

公开(公告)号：US11008644B2

公开(公告)日：2021-05-18

申请号：US16141504

申请日：2018-09-25

Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.

Inventor： Adam Dittli ,  Robert J. Martinsen

IPC: C22F1/14 ,  B82Y40/00

Abstract: A method of non-ablatively laser patterning a multi-layer structure, the multi-layer structure including a substrate, a first layer disposed on the substrate, a second layer disposed on the first layer, and a third layer disposed on the second layer, the method including generating at least one laser pulse having laser parameters selected for non-ablatively changing the conductivity a selected portion of the third layer such that the selected portion becomes non-conductive, and directing the pulse to the multi-layer structure, wherein the conductivity of the first layer is not substantially changed by the pulse.

公开(公告)号：US10971884B2

公开(公告)日：2021-04-06

申请号：US16028694

申请日：2018-07-06

Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.

Inventor： Roger L. Farrow ,  Dahv A. V. Kliner

IPC: H01S3/067 ,  G02B6/255 ,  G02B6/42 ,  G02B6/26

Abstract: An apparatus includes an optical gain fiber having a core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding defining an optical gain fiber numerical aperture, and a multimode fiber having a core with a larger radius than a radius of the optical gain fiber core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding of the multimode fiber defining a multimode fiber stable numerical aperture that is larger than the optical gain fiber numerical aperture, the multimode fiber being optically coupled to the optical gain fiber so as to receive an optical beam propagating in the optical gain fiber and to stably propagate the received optical beam in the multimode fiber core with low optical loss associated with the optical coupling.

公开(公告)号：US10957541B2

公开(公告)日：2021-03-23

申请号：US16598210

申请日：2019-10-10

Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.

Inventor： Robert J. Martinsen ,  Scott R. Karlsen ,  Ken Gross

IPC: H01L21/268 ,  H01L21/02 ,  B23K26/00 ,  B23K26/0622 ,  B23K103/00

Abstract: Laser pulses from pulsed fiber lasers are directed to an amorphous silicon layer to produce a polysilicon layer comprising a disordered arrangement of crystalline regions by repeated melting and recrystallization. Laser pulse durations of about 0.5 to 5 ns at wavelength range between about 500 nm and 1000 nm, at repetition rates of 10 kHz to 10 MHz can be used. Line beam intensity uniformity can be improved by spectrally broadening the laser pulses by Raman scattering in a multimode fiber or by applying varying phase delays to different portions of a beam formed with the laser pulses to reduce beam coherence.

公开(公告)号：US20200371285A1

公开(公告)日：2020-11-26

申请号：US16881560

申请日：2020-05-22

Applicant: NLIGHT, INC.

Inventor： Manoj KANSKAR ,  Shuang LI ,  Eric MARTIN ,  Jay SMALL ,  Jiamin ZHANG

IPC: G02B6/02 ,  C03B37/012

Abstract: An apparatus for scattering light may include: an optical fiber having a first length; and a sleeve, having a second length shorter than the first length, around the optical fiber. The optical fiber may include: a core; and cladding around the core. The sleeve may include fiber-optic material. The fiber-optic material may be substantially polymer-free. An outer surface of the sleeve may be roughened to scatter the light out of the sleeve through the roughened surface. A method of forming an apparatus for scattering light may include: providing a sleeve having a first length, the sleeve having inner and outer surfaces; providing an optical fiber having a second length longer than the first length; passing the sleeve around the optical fiber or threading the optical fiber through the sleeve; and roughening at least a portion of the outer surface of the sleeve.

公开(公告)号：US10833482B2

公开(公告)日：2020-11-10

申请号：US16269387

申请日：2019-02-06

Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.

Inventor： Zhigang Chen ,  Manoj Kanskar ,  Shuang Li ,  Jim Zhang ,  Mark DeFranza ,  David Martin Hemenway ,  Eric Martin ,  Jay Small

IPC: H01S5/40 ,  H01S5/022

Abstract: Apparatus include a first laser diode situated to emit a beam from an exit facet along an optical axis, the beam as emitted having perpendicular fast and slow axes perpendicular to the optical axis, a first fast axis collimator (FAC) optically coupled to the beam as emitted from the exit facet and configured to direct the beam along a redirected beam axis having a non-zero angle with respect to the optical axis of the first laser diode, a second laser diode situated to emit a beam from an exit facet of the second laser diode along an optical axis parallel to the optical axis of the first laser diode and with a slow axis in a common plane with the slow axis of the first laser diode, and a second fast axis collimator (FAC) optically coupled to the beam as emitted from the exit facet of the second laser diode and configured to direct the beam along a redirected beam axis having a non-zero angle with respect to the optical axis of the second laser diode.

公开(公告)号：US10833474B2

公开(公告)日：2020-11-10

申请号：US16052517

申请日：2018-08-01

Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.

Inventor： Manoj Kanskar ,  Zhigang Chen

IPC: H01S5/022 ,  H01S5/323 ,  H01S5/024 ,  H01L23/00 ,  H01S5/00 ,  H01S5/40

Abstract: Laser diode submounts include a SiC substrate on which a thick conductive layer is supplied to use in mounting a laser diode. The thick conductive layer is typically gold or copper, and can be electrically coupled to a base laser that is used to define laser diode couplings.

公开(公告)号：US20200333640A1

公开(公告)日：2020-10-22

申请号：US16921531

申请日：2020-07-06

Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.

Inventor： Dahv A.V. Kliner ,  Roger Farrow

IPC: G02F1/01 ,  B23K26/067 ,  B23K26/38 ,  G02B6/14 ,  B23K26/21 ,  B22F3/105 ,  B22F3/11 ,  B22F3/24 ,  B23K26/03 ,  G02B6/02 ,  B33Y10/00 ,  B33Y30/00 ,  B33Y50/02 ,  B23K26/342 ,  B29C48/08 ,  G02B6/036 ,  G02B6/42 ,  B23K26/064 ,  B23K26/073 ,  G02B6/255 ,  G02B27/09

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, apparatus, and systems for providing an optical beam delivery system, comprising an optical fiber including a first length of fiber comprising a first RIP formed to enable, at least in part, modification of one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam by a perturbation assembly arranged to modify the one or more beam characteristics, the perturbation assembly coupled to the first length of fiber or integral with the first length of fiber, or a combination thereof and a second length of fiber coupled to the first length of fiber and having a second RIP formed to preserve at least a portion of the one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam modified by the perturbation assembly within one or more first confinement regions. The optical beam delivery system may include an optical system coupled to the second length of fiber including one or more free-space optics configured to receive and transmit an optical beam comprising the modified one or more beam characteristics.

公开(公告)号：US20200319408A9

公开(公告)日：2020-10-08

申请号：US15883480

申请日：2018-01-30

Applicant: nLIGHT, Inc.

Inventor： Ken GROSS ,  Brian VICTOR ,  Robert MARTINSEN ,  Dahv A.V. KLINER ,  Roger FARROW

IPC: G02B6/26 ,  B23K26/70 ,  B23K26/073 ,  B23K26/062 ,  B29C64/153 ,  B29C64/264

Abstract: A method of processing by controlling one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam may include: launching the optical beam into a first length of fiber having a first refractive-index profile (RIP); coupling the optical beam from the first length of fiber into a second length of fiber having a second RIP and one or more confinement regions; modifying the one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam in the first length of fiber, in the second length of fiber, or in the first and second lengths of fiber; confining the modified one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam within the one or more confinement regions of the second length of fiber; and/or generating an output beam, having the modified one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam, from the second length of fiber. The first RIP may differ from the second RIP.