Compact optical fiber coupling output semiconductor laser
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of lasers, in particular to a compact optical fiber coupling output semiconductor laser.
Background
The semiconductor laser is widely applied to the fields of processing, illumination, medical treatment, communication, scientific research and the like. At present, most of conventional semiconductor lasers are step-type optical fiber coupling semiconductor lasers, the lasers are composed of a plurality of semiconductor laser chips, and the semiconductor laser chips can be single dies or multi-dies. Fig. 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams of a laser in the prior art. In the figure, 01 is a semiconductor laser chip, 02 is a stepped heat sink, 03 is a fast axis collimator lens, and 04 is a slow axis collimator lens. The laser has the following characteristics:
A. the chips are distributed on the step-shaped heat sink in a parallel mode (along a fast axis, a slow axis or a fast and slow axis), and the chip junction plane is parallel to the bottom surface of the optical fiber coupling semiconductor laser;
B. the light beams radiated by the chips are collimated by the fast axis collimating lens and the slow axis collimating lens respectively, and the directions of the light beams are not changed in the collimating process;
C. the direction of the collimated light beam is changed on the slow axis of the light beam by a reflector, and the direction is generally orthogonal;
D. after the optical axis is changed, the light beams can form a 1-dimensional or 2-dimensional light beam array;
E. the light beam array is focused by the focusing lens and coupled into the optical fiber for transmission. The focusing lens is generally a spherical or aspherical single lens, a spherical or aspherical lens group, and is characterized in that the focal lengths along the fast axis and the slow axis are equal.
However, since the laser has the characteristic a, each semiconductor laser chip and the adjacent semiconductor laser chip have an accumulative height difference with respect to the laser mounting surface, and as the number of chips increases, the highest semiconductor laser chip has an accumulative height difference with respect to the lowest semiconductor laser chip, which is positively correlated with the number, and this height difference not only increases the volume and weight of the laser, but also causes a thermal resistance change so that the semiconductor laser chips have different center wavelengths, resulting in an increase in the design spectrum width of the laser. The prior art and the assembly and adjustment process can not effectively reduce the volume and the weight.
In addition, since the laser has the feature B, C, the beam conversion length in the slow axis direction increases, and the interface loss increases. Because the laser has the characteristic E, the focal length of the slow axis collimating mirror is related to the focal length of the fast axis collimating mirror, so that the design of the laser is limited by the fast axis collimating mirror.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a compact optical fiber coupling output semiconductor laser which can reduce the volume and the weight.
In order to solve the technical problems, the invention adopts a technical scheme that: the compact optical fiber coupling output semiconductor laser comprises a laser tube shell, an LD light-emitting unit, a fast axis collimating mirror, a reflecting slow axis collimating mirror, a multi-dimensional beam combination element, a focusing mirror group and a coupling optical fiber, wherein a plurality of inclined step heat sinks arranged along the horizontal direction and slow reflecting mirror mounting steps which are arranged side by side with the inclined step heat sinks are arranged in the laser tube shell;
the plurality of LD light-emitting units are respectively packaged on the plurality of inclined step heat sinks and used for emitting original light beams to the direction of the slow reflecting mirror mounting steps;
the fast axis collimating lenses are respectively arranged close to the LD light-emitting units and used for fast axis collimation of the original light beam and outputting a fast axis collimated light beam to the direction of the slow reflecting mirror mounting step;
the plurality of reflective slow axis collimating mirrors are respectively arranged on the plurality of slow reflecting mirror mounting steps and are used for turning the optical axis of the fast axis collimated light beam by a certain angle, carrying out slow axis collimation on the fast axis collimated light beam and outputting the fast axis collimated light beam and the slow axis collimated light beam to the arrangement direction of the slow reflecting mirror mounting steps, wherein the upper edges of the plurality of reflective slow-axis collimating mirrors are respectively flush with the upper edges of the plurality of fast-axis collimated light beams, the output fast-axis collimated light beams are parallel to the step surface of the slow-axis reflecting mirror mounting step, the inclination angle and the inclination direction of the fast and slow axis collimated light beams are the same as the installation steps of the slow reflecting mirror, so that the fast and slow axis collimated light beams output by the next reflecting slow axis collimating mirror can not be shielded by the previous reflecting slow axis collimating mirror, the lower edge of the fast and slow axis collimated light beam is closely spliced with the upper edge of the fast and slow axis collimated light beam output by the previous reflective slow axis collimating mirror along the normal direction of the slow reflecting mirror mounting step;
the multi-dimensional beam combination element is used for performing secondary multi-dimensional beam combination on the fast and slow axis collimated beams output by the plurality of reflective slow axis collimating mirrors and outputting combined beam beams;
the focusing mirror group is used for focusing the beam combination beam into a coupling beam and injecting the coupling beam into the coupling optical fiber.
Preferably, the reflective slow-axis collimating mirror is a combination of a prism and a common cylindrical mirror, an incident surface of the prism faces the fast-axis collimating mirror, a total reverse surface of the right-angle prism is used for turning an optical axis of the fast-axis collimated light beam, and the common cylindrical mirror is connected with a light exit surface of the prism and used for performing slow-axis collimation on the fast-axis collimated light beam and outputting the fast-axis collimated light beam.
Preferably, a prism of the reflective slow-axis collimating mirror is a right-angle prism, and the total reverse surface of the prism is used for turning the optical axis of the fast-axis collimated light beam by 90 °.
Preferably, the focusing lens group includes two cylindrical mirrors with mutually perpendicular curved surfaces, the focuses of the two cylindrical mirrors are overlapped at one point, the first cylindrical mirror is used for focusing the fast axis direction of the combined beam, and the second cylindrical mirror is used for focusing the slow axis direction of the combined beam.
Preferably, the coupling end of the coupling optical fiber coincides with the focal point of the focusing lens group.
Different from the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effects that:
1. the plurality of parallel inclined step heat sinks can effectively reduce the average thermal resistance of the LD light-emitting units and ensure the consistency of heat dissipation paths when the plurality of LD light-emitting units dissipate heat passively, so that the electro-optic conversion efficiency of the LD light-emitting units is improved, energy conservation and emission reduction are facilitated, and the reliability of the laser is improved.
2. The use of the reflective slow-axis collimating mirror can reduce the use number of optical elements, so that the structure is more compact, the assembling and adjusting procedures are reduced, and the production efficiency and the production quality are favorably improved.
3. The optical path length of the focusing coupling part can be shortened by separating the focusing lens group, the size and the weight of the laser module can be greatly reduced, and the cost is saved, and the energy conservation and emission reduction of an upstream supply chain are facilitated.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a prior art laser;
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a prior art laser;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a compact fiber coupled-out semiconductor laser according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 4 is a schematic front view of a compact fiber-coupled output semiconductor laser according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a compact fiber-coupled output semiconductor laser according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the optical simulation of FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an optical simulation of the top view of FIG. 3;
fig. 8 is a front view of a focusing mirror group of a compact fiber-coupled output semiconductor laser according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a top view of a focusing mirror assembly of a compact fiber-coupled output semiconductor laser according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
Referring to fig. 3 to 5, the compact fiber coupled output semiconductor laser according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a laser package 1, an LD light emitting unit 2, a fast axis collimator 3, a reflective slow axis collimator 4, a multi-dimensional beam combining element 5, a focusing mirror group 6, and a coupling fiber 7, where the laser package 1 is provided with a plurality of inclined step heat sinks 11 arranged in a horizontal direction and slow mirror mounting steps 12 arranged side by side with the plurality of inclined step heat sinks 11, the inclined step heat sinks 11 are in one-to-one correspondence with the slow mirror mounting steps 12, the plurality of inclined step heat sinks 11 have the same height, the plurality of slow mirror mounting steps 12 have the same height, and the height is lower than the inclined step heat sinks 11, and the inclined angles and inclined directions of the slow mirror mounting steps 12 and the inclined step heat sinks 11 are the same.
The plurality of LD light emitting units 2 are respectively packaged on the plurality of inclined step heat sinks 11 for emitting original light beams in the direction of the slow reflector mounting step 12.
The fast axis collimating mirrors 3 are respectively mounted next to the LD light emitting units 2, and are configured to perform fast axis collimation on the original light beam, and output a fast axis collimated light beam in a direction where the slow mirror mounting step 12 is located.
The plurality of reflective slow axis collimating mirrors 4 are respectively arranged on the plurality of slow mirror mounting steps 12 and are used for converting the optical axis of the fast axis collimated light beam, carrying out slow axis collimation on the fast axis collimated light beam, outputting the fast axis collimated light beam and the slow axis collimated light beam in the arrangement direction of the slow mirror mounting steps 12, wherein, the upper edges of the plurality of reflective slow axis collimating mirrors 4 are respectively flush with the upper edges of the plurality of fast axis collimated light beams, the output fast axis collimated light beams and the output slow axis collimated light beams are parallel to the step surface of the slow reflecting mirror mounting step 12, the inclination angle and the inclination direction of the collimated light beams of the fast and slow axes are the same as those of the slow reflecting mirror mounting step 12, so that the fast and slow axis collimated light beams output by the next reflective slow axis collimating mirror 4 can not be shielded by the previous reflective slow axis collimating mirror 4, and the lower edge of the fast and slow axis collimated light beam is closely spliced with the upper edge of the fast and slow axis collimated light beam output by the previous reflective slow axis collimating mirror 4 along the normal direction of the slow reflecting mirror mounting step 12.
The multi-dimensional beam combination element 5 is used for performing secondary multi-dimensional beam combination on the fast and slow axis collimated beams output by the plurality of reflective slow axis collimating mirrors 4 and outputting a combined beam. The beam combination mode of the multidimensional beam combination element 5 can be polarization beam combination, slow axis splicing, spectrum beam combination and the like.
The focusing mirror group 6 is used for focusing the combined beam into a coupled beam and injecting the coupled beam into the coupling optical fiber 7. The total beam quality of the coupled light beam is matched with the parameters of the coupled optical fiber 7, the upper limit of the number of the fast and slow axis collimated light beams capable of being combined is limited by the beam parameter of the coupled optical fiber 7, and the good coupling effect is ensured without damaging the coupling end of the coupled optical fiber 7.
As shown in fig. 6, the original light beams emitted by the plurality of LD light-emitting units 2 are collimated by the plurality of fast axis collimators 3, the optical axes of the light beams are then deflected by the plurality of reflective slow axis collimators 4 and slow axis collimation is performed, and finally, the fast and slow axis collimated light beams output by the plurality of reflective slow axis collimators 4 are closely spliced in the normal direction of the slow mirror mounting step 12 to form a multi-dimensional array light beam.
As shown in fig. 7, since the plurality of slow reflecting mirror mounting steps 12 are inclined, the upper edges of the plurality of reflecting slow axis collimators 4 are also inclined and are flush with the upper edges of the plurality of fast axis collimated light beams, respectively, so that the fast and slow axis collimated light beams output by the plurality of reflecting slow axis collimators 4 are also inclined, so that the fast and slow axis collimated light beams output by the latter reflecting slow axis collimator 4 are not blocked by the former reflecting slow axis collimator 4 but just pass over the upper edge of the former reflecting slow axis collimator 4, and the lower edges of the fast and slow axis collimated light beams are closely spliced with the fast and slow axis collimated light beams output by the former reflecting slow axis collimator 4 in the normal direction of the slow reflecting mirror mounting steps 12. It should be noted that, in the drawing, of the two adjacent reflective slow-axis collimating mirrors 4, the left reflective slow-axis collimating mirror 4 is behind, and the right reflective slow-axis collimating mirror 4 is in front.
In specific implementation, the height and the inclination angle of the inclined step heat sink 11 are accurately determined by the parallel distance between two adjacent inclined step heat sinks 11 and the parameters of the fast axis collimating mirror 3, that is, the height of the inclined step heat sink 11 is equal to or slightly greater than the width of the fast axis collimated light beam in the fast axis direction, and the inclination angle of the inclined step heat sink 11 is the arctangent value of the ratio of the height of the inclined step heat sink 11 to the parallel distance between two adjacent inclined step heat sinks 11; the number of the LD light emitting units 2 is determined by the beam parameter of the LD and the parameter of the coupling fiber 7, the number of the inclined step heat sinks 11 is equal to the number of the LD light emitting units 2, and the beam parameter of the coupling light beam is not larger than the beam parameter of the coupling fiber 7 in principle.
Through the mode, the LD light-emitting unit 2 and the reflective slow-axis collimating mirror 4 are not horizontally arranged along the horizontal direction, but are inclined at a certain angle relative to the horizontal direction, and after the design can realize the integration of a large number of LD light-emitting units 2, the lower end face of the LD light-emitting unit 2 is also consistent in distance with the inclined step heat sink 11, so that the structure is more compact, the heat dissipation is more uniform, and the laser can have smaller volume and lighter weight.
In this embodiment, the reflective slow-axis collimator 4 is an assembly of a prism 41 and a general cylindrical mirror 42, an incident surface of the prism 41 faces the fast-axis collimator 3 and is used for incident fast-axis collimated light beams, an all-reverse surface of the prism 41 is used for turning an optical axis of the fast-axis collimated light beams, and the general cylindrical mirror 42 is connected to a light-emitting surface of the prism 41 and is used for performing slow-axis collimation on the fast-axis collimated light beams and outputting the fast-axis collimated light beams and the slow-axis collimated light beams. The prism 41 and the general cylindrical mirror 42 may be integrally formed. The design can shorten the light path distance of slow axis collimation and orthogonal steering, and is favorable for shortening the structure size. In addition, the interface loss can be further reduced by utilizing the characteristic that the total reflection energy loss is zero.
Further, the prism 41 of the reflective slow-axis collimator 4 is a right-angle prism, and the total reverse surface of the prism is used for turning the optical axis of the fast-axis collimated light beam by 90 °.
As shown in fig. 1, 8 and 9, the focusing mirror group 6 includes two cylindrical mirrors 61 and 62 having curved surfaces perpendicular to each other, the two cylindrical mirrors 61 and 62 have their focal points overlapped at one point, the first cylindrical mirror 61 is used for focusing the beam in the fast axis direction, and the second cylindrical mirror 62 is used for focusing the beam in the slow axis direction. Furthermore, the coupling end of the coupling fiber 7 coincides with the focal point of the focusing lens group 5, that is, the coupling end of the coupling fiber 7 coincides with the focal points of the two cylindrical mirrors 61 and 62.
The above description is only an example of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application. It should be noted that: like reference numbers and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.
It is noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.