Motor Driven Laser Lens Alignment Station
Channel: UNLVECE
Date: 04/06/2020

Lasers are used in an ever-expanding range of applications, from range-finding systems to laser surgery equipment––from classroom laser pointers to a soldier’s rifle-mount aim assist. All laser beams are created using two main components: a laser diode and a lens. As it stands alone, the laser diode emits light in all directions. The lens is used to focus the light emitted by the diode onto certain point, and for the perfect beam to be produced, precise alignment of the lens is required. 
Laser lens alignment is performed manually by technicians every day at laser manufacturing facilities, but manual alignment is a tedious process. The alignment of a single lens can take up to a minute or more, and the technician who performs the alignment only has control over one axis of motion. It is also relatively unsafe to align laser lenses manually. Stray light from a laser (or even more dangerous, stray light from an infrared or invisible laser) can be very powerful, and thus, very harmful to the human eye. 
The 3D Laser Lens Alignment Station is a software-operated machine which will automatically align a lens with a laser diode to produce a laser that is product-ready. The station will consist of three stepper motors which will align the lens per feedback from an image processing unit––a unit driven by an algorithm which will monitor the current shape, position, and intensity of the beam and command the motors to adjust the position of the lens accordingly. Compared to current market solutions, the 3D Laser Lens Alignment Station offers much higher efficiency, sufficient range of motion in X, Y, and Z directions, and can be enclosed for safety purposes.