Patent ID: 6084717
Filing Date: 2000-07-04
Classification: A61B,A61N,G02B

Abstract:
A laser beam splitter apparatus capable of forming at least eight output laser beams from a laser input, said splitter comprising:an arrangement of at least seven beam splitters each of which splits an incident laser beam into two exit beams of equal energy at a particular incident angle for each splitter, at least some of said particular incident angles being different from each other for the different splitters, said apparatus comprising a first splitter, having a first splitter particular incident angle, and being arranged for receiving said laser input at the first particular incident angle;said second and third splitters having second and third particular incident angles, and being arranged so that the exit beams of the first splitter are directed to the second and third splitters, as their incident laser beams at the first particular incident angle;each of said second and third splitters providing two exit beams when receiving an incident laser beam;said fourth, fifth sixth and seventh splitters, having fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh particular incident angles, and being arranged so that the exit beams from said second and third splitters are directed to said fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh splitters at the first particular incident angle as their incident laser beam;each of said fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh splitters providing two exit laser beams when receiving an incident laser beam;the second and third particular incident angles being closer to the first particular incident angle than the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh particular incident angles, the variance in energy between the two exit beams of each of the first, second and third splitters being less than about 3 percent at an incident laser beam angle about equal to the first particular incident angle and the variance in energy between the two exit beams of each of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh splitters being less than about 7 percent at an incident laser beam angle about equal to the first particular incident angle, said apparatus being capable of providing at least eight output beams varying in energy from each other by less than about 10 percent.