US 12,168,263 B2
Dynamic beam deflection and shaping for high-power laser machining process
Patrick Kühl, Wilmington, DE (US)
Assigned to II-VI DELAWARE, INC., Wilmington, DE (US)
Filed by II-VI Delaware, Inc, Wilmington, DE (US)
Filed on Jul. 20, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/443,070.
Prior Publication US 2023/0022699 A1, Jan. 26, 2023
Int. Cl. B23K 26/082 (2014.01); B23K 26/06 (2014.01); B23K 26/70 (2014.01); G02B 6/26 (2006.01)
CPC B23K 26/082 (2015.10) [B23K 26/0665 (2013.01); B23K 26/703 (2015.10); B23K 26/705 (2015.10); B23K 26/707 (2015.10); G02B 6/262 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A laser processing head for lasing a workpiece, the head comprising:
a sealed housing, disposed in the head, having an input and an output;
a delivery fiber, disposed in the input of the sealed housing, configured to emit a laser beam along an optical axis from a fiber end toward the output of the sealed housing;
at least one actuator, disposed in the sealed housing and engaged with the fiber end, configured to laterally displace the fiber end along at least one side axis perpendicular to the optical axis;
a collimator, disposed in the head on the optical axis, configured to collimate the laterally displaced laser beam emitted from the fiber end;
a focusing component, disposed in the head along the optical axis, configured to focus the collimated laser beam from the collimator to a focal point at the workpiece, the focal point being deflected from the optical axis in relation to the deflection of the fiber end;
at least one cooled aperture disposed relative to the sealed housing and the collimator and being configured to prevent back reflection of at least some laser light toward the sealed housing; and
a controller configured to:
receive target movement parameters;
receive an indication of the deflection of the focal point from at least one of:
an actuator feedback sensor that outputs an indication of movement applied by the at least one actuator;
a sensor element that that outputs an indication of the displacement of the fiber end; or
a sensor element or camera-based position detector that captures an indication of deflection of the laser beam; and
output modulated movement signals to the at least one actuator in accordance with the target movement parameters and the received indication of the deflection of the focal point.