Patent ID: 11874535
Assignee: CONCEPT LASER GMBH
Field: Materials, metallurgy (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC G  B  Y | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. An irradiation device for an apparatus for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects, the irradiation device comprising:
a working beam generation device configured to provide a working beam;
a modulation beam generation device configured to provide a modulation beam;
a solid-state optical modulator comprising a crystalline material that exhibits a change in refractive index in response to photoexcitation of free electrons within the crystalline material; and
a power source coupled to the solid-state optical modulator, the power source configured to introduce free electrons into the crystalline material;
wherein the modulation beam, when incident upon the crystalline material, causes photoexcitation of the free electrons within the crystalline material, and the photoexcitation of the free electrons within the crystalline material causes the crystalline material to exhibit the change in refractive index; and
wherein the working beam, when incident upon the crystalline material, undergoes a phase shift attributable at least in part to the change in refractive index exhibited by the crystalline material.