Abstract: A laser line generating assembly for projecting a low-speckle laser line is provided. The laser line generating includes a laser source, a beam divider and a sub-beam converter. The laser source generating a laser beam having a temporal coherence. The beam divider divides the laser beam into incoherent multiple sub-beams propagating in a same propagation plane. The sub-beam converter generates a plurality of laser light sheets, each laser light sheet being associated with a corresponding one of the sub-beams. Each laser light sheet extends within the propagation plane. The laser light sheets intersect a projection plane to define laser line elements overlapping at least partially to form said low-speckle laser line, the laser line elements having respective speckle patterns which are at least partially uncorrelated.

Abstract: A laser line generating assembly for projecting a low-speckle laser line is provided. The laser line generating includes a laser source, a beam divider and a sub-beam converter. The laser source generating a laser beam having a temporal coherence. The beam divider divides the laser beam into incoherent multiple sub-beams propagating in a same propagation plane. The sub-beam converter generates a plurality of laser light sheets, each laser light sheet being associated with a corresponding one of the sub-beams. Each laser light sheet extends within the propagation plane. The laser light sheets intersect a projection plane to define laser line elements overlapping at least partially to form said low-speckle laser line, the laser line elements having respective speckle patterns which are at least partially uncorrelated.

Abstract: A laser line generating assembly for projecting a low-speckle laser line is provided. The laser line generating includes a laser source, a beam divider and a sub-beam converter. The laser source generating a laser beam having a temporal coherence. The beam divider divides the laser beam into incoherent multiple sub-beams propagating in a same propagation plane. The sub-beam converter generates a plurality of laser light sheets, each laser light sheet being associated with a corresponding one of the sub-beams. Each laser light sheet extends within the propagation plane. The laser light sheets intersect a projection plane to define laser line elements overlapping at least partially to form said low-speckle laser line, the laser line elements having respective speckle patterns which are at least partially uncorrelated.

Abstract: The rectangular beam shaper can be used for formatting an incident optical beam along an optical path.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the optical device for generating an illumination pattern has a beam splitter and a pattern generator mounted in series and optically coupled one with the other. The beam splitter and the pattern generator are configured to cooperate one with the other in formatting an incident light beam into the illumination pattern. The illumination pattern has a plurality of diffraction patterns each resulting from a corresponding portion of the incident light beam being split from other portions of the incident light beam by the beam splitter. Each diffraction pattern has a zero-order beam. Each diffraction pattern overlaps with at least one of the other diffraction patterns and forms at least one overlapping region therewith, wherein the plurality of zero-order beams of the plurality of diffraction patterns are separated from one another in the illumination pattern.

Abstract: To reduce speckle, a composite laser line beam is formed by the superposition of coherent laser line beams projected at different angles towards a target during use. The superposition of the coherent laser line beams combined with their differing angles of incidence relative to the target allow the composite laser line beam to have a reduced amount of speckles, which is desirable when illuminating the target in imaging applications. The laser line projector generally has a frame, a projection plane, laser sources and a reformatting assembly. During use, the laser sources project coherent laser beams towards the reformatting assembly which reformats the coherent laser beams into the coherent laser line beams to form the composite laser line beam.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the optical device for generating an illumination pattern has a beam splitter and a pattern generator mounted in series and optically coupled one with the other. The beam splitter and the pattern generator are configured to cooperate one with the other in formatting an incident light beam into the illumination pattern. The illumination pattern has a plurality of diffraction patterns each resulting from a corresponding portion of the incident light beam being split from other portions of the incident light beam by the beam splitter. Each diffraction pattern has a zero-order beam. Each diffraction pattern overlaps with at least one of the other diffraction patterns and forms at least one overlapping region therewith, wherein the plurality of zero-order beams of the plurality of diffraction patterns are separated from one another in the illumination pattern.

Abstract: The light beam formatter for formatting a light beam having a first mode field diameter and a first intensity profile having a non-uniformly distributed energy density, the light beam formatter generally has a housing having an optical path for the light beam; first and second optical elements mounted to the housing and optically coupled to the optical path and spaced from each other by a distance along the optical path, the first optical element and the second optical element being adapted to format the first mode field diameter of the light beam to a second mode field diameter, and a beam uniformizing element mounted to the housing and optically coupled to the optical path between the first optical element and the second optical element, the beam uniformizing element being adapted to uniformize the first intensity profile of the light beam into a second intensity profile.

Abstract: There is provided an optical system and method for shaping a polychromatic light into a substantially uniform profile beam along a first axis. A polychromatic divergent light with having multiple wavelength components is provided with a dispersion of divergence. A collimation optic collimates the polychromatic divergent light. A shaping lens shapes the collimated beam into a shaped beam with a nearly uniform profile along the first axis, the dispersion of divergence causing a deviation from uniformity of the nearly uniform profile. A focusing optic focuses the shaped beam. A combination of the collimation and focusing optics shows a chromatic focal shift that compensates for said dispersion of divergence, so as to reduce the deviation from uniformity to obtain a profile with a substantially uniform intensity along the first axis, for all of said multiple wavelength components.

Abstract: There is provided an optical system and method for shaping a polychromatic light into a substantially uniform profile beam along a first axis. A polychromatic divergent light with having multiple wavelength components is provided with a dispersion of divergence. A collimation optic collimates the polychromatic divergent light. A shaping lens shapes the collimated beam into a shaped beam with a nearly uniform profile along the first axis, the dispersion of divergence causing a deviation from uniformity of the nearly uniform profile. A focusing optic focuses the shaped beam. A combination of the collimation and focusing optics shows a chromatic focal shift that compensates for said dispersion of divergence, so as to reduce the deviation from uniformity to obtain a profile with a substantially uniform intensity along the first axis, for all of said multiple wavelength components.

Abstract: The invention relates to a beam shaping system for providing a square or rectangular laser beam having a controlled intensity profile (uniform, super gaussian or cosine corrected for example) from an incident non-uniform beam intensity profile laser beam source (a Gaussian profile, a profile with astigmatism or any non-rotationally symmetric and non-uniform profile for example). The beam shaping system uses a first acylindrical lens for shaping the incident laser beam along a first axis and a second acylindrical lens orthogonally disposed relative to the first acylindrical lens and for shaping the incident beam along a second axis. The thereby provided light beam is a rectangular beam having a controlled intensity distribution in the far field.

Abstract: The invention relates to a beam shaping system for providing a square or rectangular laser beam having a controlled intensity profile (uniform, super gaussian or cosine corrected for example) from an incident non-uniform beam intensity profile laser beam source (a Gaussian profile, a profile with astigmatism or any non-rotationally symmetric and non-uniform profile for example). The beam shaping system uses a first acylindrical lens for shaping the incident laser beam along a first axis and a second acylindrical lens orthogonally disposed relative to the first acylindrical lens and for shaping the incident beam along a second axis. The thereby provided light beam is a rectangular beam having a controlled intensity distribution in the far field.