Stress-Free Window for Laser Applications

The present invention is related to low loss optic elements such as windows or lenses for use in equipment such as lasers. In the prior art it has been known to use Brewster windows in laser application. The Brewster window is a glass window used at opposite ends of some gas lasers to transmit one polarization of the laser output beam without loss. Previous Brewster window designs have been continuous sheets of glass. Small mismatches in expansion coefficients of the window and of the laser body to which the window is fastened result in stresses in the glass as the temperature changes. Such stresses make the glass window birefringent which increases surface reflectance losses and reduces power output from the laser. Birefringence also provides a retardance mechanism which creates elliptically polarized light from plane polarized light. When the laser is used in laser gyro applications, such elliptically polarized light results in a bias sensitivity to magnetic fields and performance degradation.

In the present invention the Brewster window has a novel structure in that a plurality of circular or curved grooves are formed in the window to isolate stresses from reaching the important window central region used for light beam transmission. The plurality of grooves effectively form a resilient or spring-like zone between the area used to attach the window and the central area used for light beam transmission. Differential (e.g. thermal) motion generated in the peripheral mounting area is stress-decoupled or absorbed in the spring-like region and thereby significantly reduces or eliminates stresses transmitted to the central region of the window.

FIG. 1 is a front FIG. 1a and edge FIG. 1b view of the stress-free window.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the windows of FIG. 1 mounted on a laser tube.

FIG. 3 is a side FIG. 3a and top FIG. 3b view of a typical Ne-He laser structure with the stress-free windows in place.

The present invention is directed to an improved optical window or lens of the type useable in a laser. In the specific embodiment shown and described herein, the improved window is a stress-free Brewster window. Referring now to FIGS. 1, a and b, there is shown a transparent glass window 10 in the form of a flat disc. The flat disc window may instead be a lens if desired. The window 10 has a stress-free central area 11, a plurality of stress relief grooves 12, 13 and 14 and a surrounding mounting area 15 at the periphery of the window. The number of grooves is not intended to be limited to three as shown. The grooves which may be prepared by etching or machining are shown as being circular in FIG. 1a for the preferred embodiment but may be non-circular if desired.

In one specific embodiment of the invention the diameter of the window 10 is about 15 mm, the central area 11 is about 4.3 mm in diameter, the thickness of the window is about 1.2 mm and the depth of the grooves 12, 13 and 14 is about 0.6 mm. The depth of the grooves may also be substantially deeper than about one half of the thickness of the window as is set out in the specific embodiment. Each succeeding groove has a different radius. The plurality of concentric grooves preferably alternate from one surface of the window to the other as is shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2 there is shown diagrammatically a laser tube 20 with the stress-free Brewster window 10 at each end. The dashed line passing through the stress-free center of the windows shows the path of the emanating laser beam. In FIG. 3, a and b, there is shown in more detail a conventional NeHe laser which utilizes the improved stress-free windows 10 of the invention. The mounting or bonding surface area of the window 10 and the mating surface of the glassy laser structure 21 where the surfaces contact, are made very smooth so that the molecules bond together to provide a vacuum tight seal for the laser chamber, which chamber contains a low pressure fill or mix of helium and neon at about 5 Torr. Epoxy bonding or the like may also be used. In FIG. 3b the window are removed so the laser beam passage is more clearly seen.

The stress-free Brewster windows 10 described above and the laser body to which the windows are sealed may have small mismatches in expansion coefficients which results in stresses in the glass as the temperature changes. The series of grooves 12, 13 and 14 in the present window effectively form a resilient or spring-like zone between the outer perimeter mounting area and the central area used for the light beam transmission to isolate stresses at the mounting area from reaching and affecting the window central region. The differential (thermal) motion is absorbed or decoupled in the spring-like region and significantly reduces stresses reaching the central region 11.