SBIR Phase I: Ultra-High-Speed Z-Scanning Optics for Laser Manufacturing

该小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在创建一种超高速变焦光学元件，以满足与激光制造相关的强大性能需求。 在激光加工中改变焦点位置的能力对于适应工业制造中通常遇到的快速生产量和复杂材料形状和结构是必要的。 然而，现有技术仍然是缓慢的、机械移动的透镜，这可能导致生产时间增加、精度降低、系统复杂性增加和总体成本增加。 相反，这项工作提出了一种范式转换的方法，通过开发一种新型的液体透镜，使用声音来塑造和重新聚焦光。 为了在制造竞技场中实施这种快速发展的高影响力技术，关键挑战是管理和减少可能导致不期望的光学效应的器件的激光加热。 通过使用实验测试和数值模型的组合，我们期望确定最佳的设计条件，使热效应最小化，并使透镜的折射率最大化。随着被动和主动冷却方法的加入，我们希望能够在不同功率和脉冲持续时间范围内实现生产级激光制造的透镜操作。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将对激光制造行业产生重大影响，这是一个日益重要的行业，在许多方面负责日常材料和设备的效率和经济成本。 具体而言，该项目解决了技术市场的需求，这将减少制造周期，并通过在z轴上提供对激光束的额外控制而不影响x和y轴分辨率来简化流程;从而通过提高激光制造系统的精度和速度来提高制造产量。提高制造产量对社会和环境条件都非常重要，因为它们可以减少浪费，提高所生产零件的质量，并降低制造成本。此外，该建议将增加对如何在高功率激光系统中应用超高速z扫描光学器件进行制造操作的科学和技术理解。 这不仅将导致将此类设备纳入现有系统，更重要的是，实现新的创新，例如创建具有更高性能和能力的全新制造方法。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to create an ultra-high-speed variable focus optical element meeting the robust performance needs associated with laser manufacturing. The ability to change the focal spot location in laser processing is necessary to accommodate the rapid throughput and complex materials shapes and structures generally encountered in industrial manufacturing. However, the state-of-the-art remains slow, mechanically moving lenses, which can lead to increased production times, reduced accuracy, increased system complexity and overall increased cost. Instead, this work proposes a paradigm-shifting approach to variable focus by developing a new type of liquid lens that uses sound to shape and refocus light. In order to implement this rapidly growing, high impact technology in the manufacturing arena, the key challenge is to manage and reduce laser heating of the device which can lead to undesirable optical effects. By using a combination of experimental tests and numerical models we expect to determine the optimum design conditions that minimize heating effects and maximize refractive power of the lens. With the inclusion of passive and active cooling approaches we expect to enable lens operation for production-level laser manufacturing across different power and pulse duration scales.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will have significant repercussions in the laser manufacturing industry, an increasingly important industry which is in many ways responsible for the efficiency and economical cost of every day materials and devices. Specifically, this project addresses a technological market need which will reduce the manufacturing cycle, and streamline processes by providing additional control of the laser beam in the z axis without effecting the x and y axis resolution; thereby, improving the manufacturing yield by increasing the precision, and speed of laser manufacturing systems. Improvements in manufacturing yield are incredibly important to both societal and environmental conditions as they lead to a reduction in waste, an increase in the quality of the parts produced, and a reduction in manufacturing costs. Additionally this proposal will increase scientific and technical understanding on how to applying ultra-high speed z-scanning optical devices in high power lasers systems for manufacturing operation. This will not only lead to the incorporation of such devices in already existing systems but more importantly, enable new innovations such as the creation of entirely new manufacturing approaches with increased performance and capabilities.