JP6441835B2 - Laser beam delivery nozzle with laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser beam delivery nozzle having a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism.

  Conventionally, for example, minute flaws generated on the surface of silica glass optical parts, etc. are heated by irradiating a laser beam for repair, and the residual stress unevenly distributed around the flaws is reduced by raising the temperature to the glass softening point. However, heat treatment has been performed so as to eliminate sharp-shaped scratches.

As the laser light for repair, for example, CO ₂ laser light having an infrared wavelength that is absorptive of silica is used.

FIG. 1 shows a laser beam delivery having a laser debris suction / exhaust function in which laser debris (debris of an irradiation object) generated during such CO ₂ laser beam irradiation is removed from the surface of an optical component by suction / exhaust. The cross-sectional form of a nozzle is shown.

FIG. 1 shows a transmission window 3 that can also serve as a converging lens for CO ₂ laser light 1, suction nozzle cylinder 2, and CO ₂ laser light 1 (for example, a part of visible light is transmitted at the infrared wavelength of CO ₂ laser light. High-zinc selenide (ZnSe), air suction exhaust pipe 4, silica optical component 5 (for example, silica glass lens), laser debris 6 (especially the fine particles of laser debris 6 that show adverse effects inside the suction nozzle cylinder 2) , Labeled as 6a, 6b, and 6c by cause), and the minute scratches 7 on the surface of the optical component 5 made of silica are shown.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of the nozzle structure presented in FIG. 4 of Non-Patent Document 1 below. In order to reduce the scratch 7 on the surface of the optical component 5 made of silica, the beam of the CO ₂ laser beam 1 is irradiated toward the scratch 7 through the suction nozzle cylinder 2 through the transmission window 3 and is generated at the time of the irradiation. The fine particles of the laser debris 6 are sucked and exhausted from the inside of the suction nozzle cylinder 2 via the air suction / exhaust pipe 4 to be removed from the surface of the optical component 5.

  In this heat treatment process, if the generated fine particles of the laser debris 6 are reattached to the surface of the optical component 5 made of silica, in addition to the possibility of becoming the core of new crack formation, It becomes a factor which degrades an optical characteristic. Therefore, as a nozzle configuration as shown in FIG. 1, by providing an air suction exhaust pipe 4 on the side of the suction nozzle cylinder 2, and connecting the air suction exhaust pipe 4 to a vacuum exhaust pump (not shown), A technique has been used in which the laser debris fine particles 6 are sucked and exhausted and removed from the silica optical component 5.

(Problems of conventional technology)
However, in the conventional beam delivery nozzle with the laser debris suction / exhaust function described above, among the sucked laser debris 6, the fine particles 6c rise inside the suction nozzle cylinder 2 and reach the ZnSe transmission window 3. Since the fine particles 6c are attached and are in a high temperature state, ZnSe develops toxicity exhibited at a high temperature, causing a safety problem that harmful gas is generated.

Furthermore, because the laser debris fine particles 6c adhere to the ZnSe transmission window 3, the transmission of the CO ₂ laser beam 1 through the transmission window 3 decreases, and the reproducibility and processing efficiency of this laser heat treatment process decrease. There is also a problem that the number of times that the ZnSe transmission window 3 needs to be replaced increases. In addition, since ZnSe is an expensive optical material, there has been a problem of increased operating costs.

In addition, among the laser debris 6 sucked into the nozzle 2, in the case of fine particles 6a, the optical path in the nozzle 2 of the CO ₂ laser beam 1, the fine particles 6a to scattering and absorption of CO ₂ laser beam 1 There has been a problem that the irradiation efficiency of the incident energy of the CO ₂ laser beam 1 is lowered.

  In addition, in the case of the fine particles 6b, there has also been a problem that the wall surface of the suction nozzle cylinder 2 deteriorates due to the chemical adsorption of the laser debris fine particles to the inner wall of the suction nozzle cylinder 2.

US Pat. No. 5,487,125 (Guenther W. Kammlott, Sandra G. Kosinski, John T. Krause, Richard S. Riggs, 'Method of Apparatus for Fusion Splicing Optical Fibers'. (1996))

Isaac L. Bass, Gabriel M. Guss, Richard P. Hackel, “Mitigation of Laser Damage Growth in Fused Silica with a Galvanometer Scanned CO2 laser,” vol.5991, pp.59910C-1-9 IR System Co., Ltd. HP Silicon (Si) window (Transmission wavelength 1.2-15μm) http://www.irsystem.com/product/irparts/window/Si.html Andrew D. Yablon: ‘6.1 Introduction to Splice Strength and Reliability’ In: Optical Fiber Fusion Splicing, (Springer, NewYork, 2005) pp. 162-165.

  The present invention efficiently sucks and exhausts the fine particles of laser debris generated in the heat treatment process of the optical component by the laser beam irradiation as described above, thereby improving the performance of the optical component and reducing the process cost of the heat treatment process. It is a problem to realize a laser beam delivery nozzle that can be reduced in price.

  In order to achieve such an object, the present invention is characterized by having the following configuration.

(Structure 1 of the invention)
A main body configuration cylinder having a cylindrical configuration through which laser light passes, wherein one or a plurality of air suction / exhaust pipes are connected to the side on the laser light incident side, and the opening on the laser light emission side is a laser debris suction nozzle A tube,
The inner tube through which the laser beam passes, the inner tube is supported by an airtight support portion of an airtight structure at one end of the laser beam incident side inside the main body constituting tube, and is included in the main body constituting tube, An orifice in which one end of the inner tube on the laser beam incident side is closed by a transmission window through which laser beam is transmitted, and the tube diameter is narrowed toward the laser beam emission opening at the end opposite to the transmission window An internal pipe provided with a section,
The transmission window of the inner tube, the laser light emission opening of the orifice portion, and the opening on the laser light emission side of the main body constituting tube are arranged in this order on the beam straight line of the laser light,
A laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism that exhausts laser debris generated by irradiation of the laser beam by suction from the air suction exhaust pipe ,
A laser beam having a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism , wherein a holder having a silicon window is detachably connected to the laser light emission opening of the orifice portion to enable replacement of the silicon window. Delivery nozzle.

(Configuration 2)
The object of the laser beam irradiation is an optical component made of silica, the laser beam is an infrared laser beam emitted by a CO ₂ laser, and the transmission window is made of zinc selenide (ZnSe). A laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to Configuration 1 of the invention.

(Structure 3 of the invention)
3. The laser beam delivery with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of the air suction / exhaust pipes are arranged axisymmetrically with respect to a central long axis of the main body constituting cylinder. nozzle.

(Configuration 4)
An air suction pipe connected to the inner pipe, and the air pressure inside the inner pipe is pressurized and supplied to the inside of the inner pipe by the air suction pipe so that the air pressure inside the inner pipe and the main body constituting cylinder are 4. The laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to any one of configurations 1 to 3, wherein the air pressure can be set higher than the air pressure in the space between the inner tubes.

(Structure 5 of the invention)
The main structural tubular main body portion, a connection structure of two cylindrical head portion, the connecting portion according to any one to structure 1 of the invention characterized in that it is detachably connected to the head portion 4 by Laser beam delivery nozzle with laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism.

(Structure 6 of the invention)
6. The laser beam with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to any one of configurations 1 to 5 , wherein the inner tube and the transmission window are detachably connected by a connecting portion, and the transmission window can be attached. Delivery nozzle.

  By using the laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism of the present invention described above, it is possible to reduce the adhesion of fine particles of laser debris to the transmission window where laser light is incident, and to suppress deterioration of the transmission window. Therefore, it is possible to realize a heat treatment process on an optical component by laser irradiation that is safe, easy to maintain, and has high reproducibility and efficient laser irradiation.

It is a figure which shows the cross-sectional form of the laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust function by a prior art used in order to repair the damage | wound of the optical component surface. It is a figure explaining 1st Example of the laser beam delivery nozzle by this invention which has an internal pipe with an orifice. It is a figure explaining the 2nd Example of the laser beam delivery nozzle by this invention which has the internal pipe | tube with an orifice and made the air suction exhaust pipe several ports and improved exhaust efficiency. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a third embodiment of the laser beam delivery nozzle according to the present invention having an internal pipe with an orifice, increasing the exhaust efficiency by providing a plurality of air suction and exhaust pipes, and connecting the air suction pipe to the internal pipe with an orifice. It is. It is a figure explaining the 4th Example of the laser beam delivery nozzle by this invention which has the internal pipe | tube with an orifice and installed the holder with a silicon window in the orifice part front-end | tip. It is detail drawing of the connection part of an internal tube and the permeation | transmission window in 4th Example of this invention. It is detail drawing of the holding | maintenance connection part of the holder of the internal pipe | tube orifice part tip in 4th Example of this invention. It was applied to fiber fusion process by CO ₂ laser irradiation, a diagram illustrating a fifth embodiment of a laser beam delivery nozzle according to the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a first embodiment of a laser beam delivery nozzle according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, a CO ₂ laser beam 1, a transmission window 3 (for example, made of ZnSe) into which the laser beam 1 enters, an air suction exhaust pipe 4, and an optical component 5 made of silica to be processed (for example, a silica glass lens) ), Laser debris 6 generated during processing, scratches 7 on the silica optical component 5, the main body cylinder 8 of the laser debris suction / exhaust nozzle, an inner tube 9 with a transmission window 3 through which laser light enters one end, an inner tube Airtight support that supports the orifice 10 with the diameter reduced toward the laser beam exit opening provided at the other end of the tube 9 and the inner tube 9 with an airtight structure at one end on the laser beam incident side inside the main body constituting cylinder 8 Part 11 is illustrated.

  In this configuration, the transmission window 3 of the inner tube 9, the opening on the laser light exit side of the orifice portion 10, and the opening on the laser emission side of the main body constituting tube 8 are on the beam straight line of the laser light 1. Are arranged in this order.

For example, with the laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention toward the scratch 7 of a microcrack as seen after use of a silica glass lens used in a high-intensity laser optical system as the optical component 5 When CO ₂ laser light 1 is irradiated through the laser beam delivery nozzle, the sharp crack-shaped scratches 7 are blunted by thermal relaxation, and the stress concentration state is relaxed to improve the durability of the optical component 5. It becomes possible.

  In particular, in the first embodiment, a double structure of a main body constituting cylinder 8 constituting a laser debris suction nozzle and an inner tube 9 through which a laser beam passes is adopted as a laser debris suction and exhaust mechanism. The transmission window 3 for laser incidence is attached to the upper end side of the inner tube 9 to be included, and the lower end side of the inner tube 9 is provided with an orifice portion 10 whose diameter is narrowed toward the laser light emission opening side.

  With this configuration, the opening on the laser beam emission side of the main body constituting cylinder 8 becomes a laser debris suction nozzle, and the fine particles of the sucked laser debris 6 enter the inside of the inner tube 9, particularly the laser light transmission window 3 Reduce entry and adhesion, and increase the laser beam irradiation efficiency.

  Then, the laser debris suction nozzle surrounding the inner tube 9 was guided to distribute the fine particles of the laser debris 6 in the gap between the inner tube 9 and the main tube 8 and attached to the side of the main tube 8 The laser debris 6 could be efficiently removed by suction through the air suction / exhaust pipe 4 side.

  As a result of using this nozzle, it was possible to prevent re-adhering of the generated laser debris 6 to the optical component 5 and to efficiently remove it, and to reduce the adhesion to the transmission window 3 where the laser light was incident, The transparency of the transmission window 3 was maintained, so that the maintenance of the window material was improved, and the heat treatment of the optical component by laser irradiation with high safety and repeatability could be performed.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a second embodiment of the laser beam delivery nozzle according to the present invention. 3, as in the first embodiment of FIG. 2, the CO ₂ laser beam 1, the transmission window 3 (for example, made of ZnSe) into which the laser beam 1 is incident, and the optical component 5 made of silica to be processed (for example, Silica-based glass lens), laser debris 6 generated during processing, scratches 7 on silica optical parts 5, body configuration cylinder 8 of laser debris suction / exhaust nozzle, inner tube with transmissive window 3 where laser light enters one end 9.The orifice portion 10 whose diameter is narrowed toward the laser beam emission opening provided at the other end of the inner tube 9 and the inner tube 9 are airtight at one end on the laser beam incident side inside the main body configuration tube 8. In addition to the airtight support portion 11 to be supported, two air suction / exhaust pipes 4 and 4 'are shown as a new configuration.

For example, with the laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to the second embodiment of the present invention toward the micro crack flaw 7 as seen after using a silica glass lens used in a high intensity laser optical system as the optical component 5 When CO ₂ laser light 1 is irradiated through the laser beam delivery nozzle, the sharp crack-shaped scratches 7 are blunted by thermal relaxation, and the stress concentration state is relaxed to improve the durability of the optical component 5. It becomes possible.

Here, although thermal relaxation of the optical component 5 is performed by irradiation of the CO ₂ laser beam 1, it does not become a nucleus in which a new crack flaw 7 is formed due to the adhesion of the generated fine particles of the laser debris 6 to the optical component 5. Thus, efficient removal of the debris fine particles is desired.

  Also in the second embodiment according to the present invention, as in the configuration of the first embodiment, the laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism has a double structure of the main body constituting cylinder 8 and the inner tube 9, and is enclosed in the main body constituting cylinder 8. The transmission window 3 for laser incidence is attached to the upper end side of the inner tube 9, and the orifice portion 10 whose diameter is narrowed toward the laser light emission opening side is provided on the lower end side of the inner tube 9.

  By adopting this configuration, the laser debris 6 that has been sucked into the inner tube 9 can be prevented from entering the inner tube 9, in particular, entering and adhering to the laser transmission window 3, and the laser beam irradiation efficiency can be improved. Laser debris fine particles are distributed in the gap between the main constituent tube 8 and the inner tube 9 of the debris suction nozzle and can be efficiently removed.

  In particular, in FIG. 3 of the second embodiment, two air suction and exhaust pipes 4 and 4 ′ (two cylinders, two ports) provided on the main body constituting cylinder 8 are provided, and a vacuum pump (not shown) is provided. Connect to each other to efficiently suck and exhaust air.

  As shown in this configuration, the air suction exhaust pipes 4 and 4 ′ and the two exhaust cylinder configuration enable the suction exhaust of the laser debris 6 more efficiently than the first embodiment, and the transmission window 3 and The adhesion of laser debris 6 to the inner tube 9 could be further suppressed.

Further, as a result of suppressing the entry of the laser debris 6 into the inner tube 9, the scattering rate of the laser light 1 could be reduced. Therefore, the transparency of the CO ₂ laser beam 1 through the transmission window 3 is maintained, so that the maintainability of the window material can be improved and the processing repeatability can be improved.

  Further, by arranging the air suction / exhaust pipes 4 and 4 'to be axially symmetrical around the axis of the inner pipe 9, fine particles of the laser debris 6 in the laser light path from the orifice portion 10 to the scratch 7 of the processed portion. Since the suction is sucked toward the air suction / exhaust pipes 4 and 4 ′ with the axial symmetry except for the central portion of the inner tube 9, the entry of fine particles into the laser beam path is reduced, and a more efficient scratch 7 on the processed portion. Can be irradiated with laser light 1.

  Further, in the second embodiment, the air suction / exhaust pipe 4 is increased to two or more, for example, three to four in axisymmetric manner with respect to the central long axis of the main body constituting cylinder, so that the fine particles of the laser debris 6 are sucked and exhausted. Needless to say, it can be performed more efficiently.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a third embodiment of the laser beam delivery nozzle according to the present invention. 4, as in the second embodiment of FIG. 3, a CO ₂ laser beam 1, a main body configuration cylinder 8 of a laser debris suction / exhaust nozzle, a transmission window 3 (for example, made of ZnSe), 2 on which the laser beam 1 is incident, 2 Air suction exhaust pipes 4, 4 ', silica optical component 5 to be processed, laser debris 6, scratch 7 in silica optical component 5, laser light 1 is incident on one end with transmission window 3 The inner tube 9, the orifice portion 10 whose diameter is squeezed toward the laser beam emission opening provided at the other end of the inner tube 9, and the inner tube 9 are hermetically sealed at one end on the laser beam incident side inside the main body configuration cylinder 8 In addition to the airtight support portion 11 supported by the structure, an air suction pipe 12 is illustrated as a new configuration.

For example, a laser with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to the third embodiment of the present invention is directed toward the micro crack flaw 7 observed after using a silica glass lens used in a high-intensity laser optical system as the optical component 5. When CO ₂ laser light 1 is irradiated through the beam delivery nozzle, the sharp crack-shaped scratches 7 are blunted by thermal relaxation, and the stress concentration state is relaxed to improve the durability of the optical component 5. Is possible.

Here, although the thermal relaxation of the optical component 5 is performed by the irradiation of the CO ₂ laser beam 1, the nucleus in which the crack 7 of the new crack is formed by the reattachment of the fine particles of the generated laser debris 6 to the optical component 5 Efficient removal of the fine particles is desired so as not to occur.

  In the third embodiment according to the present invention, as in the first and second embodiments, the laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism has a double structure of the main body constituting cylinder 8 and the inner tube 9. A transmission window 3 for laser incidence is attached to the upper end side of the inner tube 9 included in the inner tube 9, and an orifice portion 10 with a reduced diameter toward the laser light emission opening side is provided on the lower end side of the inner tube 9. Yes.

  With this configuration, the suction of laser debris 6 that has been sucked into the inner tube 9, especially the entry into the laser transmission window 3, is reduced, the laser beam irradiation efficiency is increased, and the laser debris suction that surrounds the inner tube 9 is achieved. Laser debris fine particles are distributed in the gap between the nozzle body constituting cylinder 8 and the inner tube 9 and can be efficiently removed by the air suction / exhaust tubes 4 and 4 ′.

  In particular, the configuration of the third embodiment of FIG. 4 has an air suction pipe 12 connected to the internal pipe 9 in addition to the configuration of the second embodiment of FIG. The air suction pipe 12 is connected to a compressor (not shown), and air is pressurized and supplied to the internal pipe 9, whereby the air pressure inside the internal pipe 9 is changed between the main body constituting cylinder 8 and the internal pipe 9. It is possible to set a differential pressure that is slightly higher than.

  For this reason, it is possible to prevent the laser debris 6 from entering the inner tube 9 from the opening on the laser beam emitting side of the orifice portion 10 more reliably, and the laser can be further improved as compared with the first and second embodiments. The penetration of the debris 6 into the inner tube 9 can be suppressed, the irradiation efficiency of the laser beam is increased, the adhesion of the laser debris 6 to the transmission window 3 is further suppressed, and the permeability of the ZnSe transmission window 3 is maintained. In addition to improving the maintainability of the window material, it has also become possible to improve repeatability.

  In the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the air suction / exhaust pipes 4 and 4 ′ and the air suction pipe 12 are a plurality of two or more, for example, three to four axisymmetrically with respect to the central long axis of the main body constituting cylinder 8. It is needless to say that by increasing the number of books, it is possible to obtain a more symmetrical laser debris fine particle suction / exhaust flow, and efficient laser debris suction / exhaust.

(Fourth embodiment)
5-7 is a figure explaining the 4th Example of the laser beam delivery nozzle of this invention.

In the configuration of the fourth embodiment of FIG. 5, the description of the parts common to the second embodiment of FIG. 3 is omitted, but as a new configuration, the main body configuration cylinder 8 of the laser debris suction / exhaust nozzle is a main body portion 8a, a head portion. 8b is a connecting structure of two cylinders, and is connected to be separable at the connecting portion 15a, and a holder 13 (see FIG. 7) is attached to the tip of the orifice portion 10 at the lower end of the inner tube 9 so as to be separable by a screw portion 14. that is, that also the inner tube 9 and the transparent window 3 is connected detachably by a connection portion 15b (see FIG. 6), in addition to different addition, CO ₂ laser beam 1 and the second embodiment of FIG visible A guide light 18 is illustrated.

  FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the connection portion between the inner tube 9 and the transmission window 3, and shows a cross section of the structure in which the connection portion 15 b connects the inner tube 9 and the laser transmission window 3 through the packing 16. ing.

  FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the holding connection portion between the orifice portion 10 at the tip of the inner tube 9 and the holder 13. The holder 13 is connected to the orifice portion 10 via the screw portion 14, and the holder 13 is packed. A cross-sectional structure is shown in which a silicon (Si) window 13a and its mounting frame 13b are connected by a set screw 17 via 16.

For example, as an optical component 5, a laser beam with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is directed toward a fine crack flaw 7 observed after using a silica glass lens used in a high-intensity laser optical system. When the CO ₂ laser beam 1 is irradiated to relieve stress through the delivery nozzle, the sharp crack-shaped flaw 7 is made blunt by thermal relaxation, and the stress concentration state is relieved to improve the durability of the optical component 5. Improvements can be made.

Here, although thermal relaxation of the optical component 5 is performed by irradiation of the CO ₂ laser beam 1, it does not become a nucleus in which a new crack flaw 7 is formed due to the adhesion of the generated fine particles of the laser debris 6 to the optical component 5. Thus, efficient removal of fine particles is desired.

  In the fourth embodiment, as in the first to third embodiments, the laser debris fine particle suction / exhaust mechanism has a double structure of the main body constituting tube 8 and the inner tube 9, and the laser incident on the inner tube 9 contained therein. A ZnSe transmission window 3 is attached to the side, and an orifice portion 10 is provided on the laser light emission opening side.

  In the fourth embodiment, unlike the first to third embodiments, a holder 13 holding a silicon (Si) window 13a as shown in FIG. As a lid or cap that is connected by the portion 14, a configuration is adopted in which the fine particles of the laser debris 6 are completely prevented from entering the inner tube 9.

The silicon window 13a or lens of the holder 13 is also known as an optical component for infrared light that transmits infrared light, and can transmit CO ₂ laser light 1 that is infrared light. (See Non-Patent Document 2)

  According to this configuration, even when the laser debris 6 adheres to the silicon window 13a, the holder 13 that holds the silicon window 13a is removed from the orifice portion 10 by operating the connection portion of the screw portion 14 to remove the silicon window 13a. By exchanging the optical component 13a, it is possible to easily prevent deterioration of the silicon optical component or thoroughly clean and remove the adhered particles. Details of the holder 13 As shown in FIG. 7, the optical parts constituting the silicon window 13a are assembled to the mounting frame 13b of the holder 13 via the packing 16 and fixed with the set screw 17, Can be exchanged.

  In addition, although silicon windows are less expensive than ZnSe windows, it is difficult to transmit visible guide light 18 (for example, laser light with a wavelength of 653 nm). Have difficulty.

Therefore, when using the holder 13 having the silicon window 13a, in order to transmit the visible guide light 18, as a preparation before the irradiation of the CO ₂ laser light 1, first, the connection portion 15a of the main body configuration cylinder is released, and the main body portion The head portion 8b is removed from 8a, and the holder 13 is also released from the orifice portion 10 of the inner pipe 9 by releasing the screw portion 14 of the connecting portion.

After that, using the visible guide light 18, the CO ₂ laser light irradiation position coordinates are taught to each part of the scratches 7 scattered on the optical component 5 as the irradiation target, and the position coordinates of each scratch 7 are beamed. It memorize | stores in an irradiation coordinate position control apparatus (not shown).

  After that, the holder 13 is reattached to the orifice part 10 of the inner tube 9 by the screw part 14, and the head part 8b is reattached to the main body part 8a using the connection part 15a, and the coordinates of the scratch 7 stored in the control device are obtained. Based on this, laser irradiation and suction / exhaust of the generated laser debris fine particles 6 are performed toward each scratch 7 of the optical component 5.

By adopting this configuration, it is possible to completely prevent the laser debris 6 from entering the inside of the inner tube 9, increase the irradiation efficiency of the laser beam, and typical ZnSe as an incident side transmission window material for the CO ₂ laser light 1 The adhesion of the laser debris particles 6 to the transparent transmission window 3 can be completely suppressed, the transparency of the CO ₂ laser light in the transmission window 3 is maintained, and the maintainability of the window material can be improved. It became possible to improve reproducibility.

  As described above, the transmission window 3 on the laser incident side has been described on the assumption that a ZnSe window material is used. However, as shown in FIG. 6, in the fourth embodiment, the transmission window 3 on the incident side is also connected 15b. Thus, a configuration is adopted in which the inner pipe 9 is connected and fixed via the packing 16.

According to the configuration of the fourth embodiment, the transmission window 3 on the incident side can be changed to the transmission window 3 made of ZnSe to be a transmission window 3 made of Si. In this case, the visible guide light 18 is made of Si. Since it does not pass through the transmission window 3, during teaching, remove both the Si transmission window 3 and the Si holder 13 from the inner tube 9, perform irradiation position coordinate teaching with the visible guide light 18, and then attach both windows. It is also possible to shift to a CO ₂ laser irradiation process.

In such a configuration, since no expensive ZnSe material is used, the cost of a beam delivery nozzle for a CO ₂ laser with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism can be greatly reduced, and the cost of parts procurement can be reduced. . However, the operation operation becomes complicated, and it is easy to cause deterioration of irradiation positioning accuracy with the increase in the number of attachments. However, it is effective when accuracy is not required such as when the scratch size is sufficiently large. Can be a useful tool.

(5th Example)
FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a fifth embodiment of the laser beam delivery nozzle according to the present invention. In FIG. 8, a laser beam delivery nozzle similar to that of the second embodiment of FIG. 3 is shown, and optical fibers 19a and 19b which are arranged with their end faces attached and fused with CO ₂ laser light 1, A fiber alignment member 20 and a fiber presser plate 21 are shown.

  In the first to fourth embodiments so far, the silica glass-based optical component 5 centering on the lens used for the optical system for high-intensity laser irradiation or the like has been described as the optical component to be processed. In the embodiment, the case where the target silica glass-based optical component is made of silica-based glass optical fibers 19a and 19b and the fusion processing is performed will be described.

  Conventionally, arc discharge fusion has been mainly used as an optical fiber fusion method. In this arc discharge fusion method, fine particles mainly composed of silica generated during fusion processing are also processed. It is known that the fiber strength deteriorates by reattaching to the optical fiber. (See Non-Patent Document 3)

  This occurs as a result of the fine particles adhering to the discharge electrode according to the lines of electric force in the discharge process scattered from the electrode during the discharge and reattached. Conventionally, a method is used in which discharge is performed once in an empty state where a fiber is not installed, fine particles are scattered to a certain extent, the amount of fine particles scattered is reduced, and then the fiber is moved to the discharge region to perform fusion processing. Has been. (See Patent Document 1)

  On the other hand, according to the laser fusion technique, the fine particles are scattered at the same time as the laser beam irradiation, and the fine particles cannot be collected in the electrode-limited area as in the arc discharge fusion method, and the fine particles are scattered by the laser irradiation. The area could not be limited, and it was difficult to avoid scattering of debris to the peripheral area where the surface of the silica optical fiber to be processed was exposed.

  In the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, after the optical fibers 19a and 19b to be fused are aligned on the fiber alignment member 20 and held within a certain clearance by the holding plate 21, the optical fibers 19a and 19b A laser fusion technique is employed in which the end faces are butted and irradiated with a laser to fuse them.

In the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism having air suction / exhaust pipes 4 and 4 'similar to the second embodiment (FIG. 3) of the present invention is provided. By providing between the abutting portions of the fused optical fibers 19a and 19b and a CO ₂ laser light source (not shown), the fine particles of the laser debris 6 are efficiently sucked and exhausted, and the clad surfaces of the optical fibers 19a and 19b As a result, it is possible to improve the strength of the fused silica glass optical fiber in the same manner as the lens component for high-intensity laser irradiation.

As a laser light source to be used, a CO (carbon monoxide) laser can be used instead of the CO ₂ laser.

  In the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the nozzle configuration used in the laser fusion processing of the optical fiber has been described by taking the nozzle configuration in the second embodiment as an example, but it has been described so far. Needless to say, any of the configurations of the first to fourth embodiments may be used.

  As described in detail with the examples above, in the laser irradiation processing of optical parts using the laser beam delivery nozzle with the laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism related to the present invention, the laser debris fine particles are efficiently removed. And durability of the optical component can be increased. In particular, in the case of fiber fusion, it is possible to remove fine particles that have been generated up to now and can be reattached to the surface of the fiber, and it becomes possible to realize a further high-quality fused optical fiber.

1 CO ₂ laser light
2 Suction nozzle cylinder
3 Transmission window (for example, made of ZnSe)
4, 4 'air suction exhaust pipe
5 Optical parts made of silica
6 Laser debris (fine particles)
6a, 6b, 6c fine particles
7 Scratches on silica optical components
8 Laser debris suction nozzle body tube
8a, 8b Main body configuration cylinder body and head
9 Internal pipe
10 Orifice
11 Airtight support
12 Air intake pipe
13 Holder
13a Silicon window (Si optical parts)
13b Mounting frame
14 Screw part
15a, 15b connection
16 Packing
17 Set screw
18 Visible guide light
19a, 19b optical fiber
20 Optical fiber alignment members
21 Optical fiber alignment presser plate

Claims (6)

A main body configuration cylinder having a cylindrical configuration through which laser light passes, wherein one or a plurality of air suction / exhaust pipes are connected to the side on the laser light incident side, and the opening on the laser light emission side is a laser debris suction nozzle A tube,
The inner tube through which the laser beam passes, the inner tube is supported by an airtight support portion of an airtight structure at one end of the laser beam incident side inside the main body constituting tube, and is included in the main body constituting tube, An orifice in which one end of the inner tube on the laser beam incident side is closed by a transmission window through which laser beam is transmitted, and the tube diameter is narrowed toward the laser beam emission opening at the end opposite to the transmission window An internal pipe provided with a section,
The transmission window of the inner tube, the laser light emission opening of the orifice portion, and the opening on the laser light emission side of the main body constituting tube are arranged in this order on the beam straight line of the laser light,
A laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism that exhausts laser debris generated by irradiation of the laser beam by suction from the air suction exhaust pipe ,
A laser beam having a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism , wherein a holder having a silicon window is detachably connected to the laser light emission opening of the orifice portion to enable replacement of the silicon window. Delivery nozzle. The object of the laser beam irradiation is an optical component made of silica, the laser beam is an infrared laser beam emitted from a CO ₂ laser, and the transmission window is zinc selenide (ZnSe)
The laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam delivery nozzle is manufactured. 3. The laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the air suction / exhaust pipes are arranged axisymmetrically with respect to a central long axis of the main body constituting cylinder. . An air suction pipe connected to the inner pipe, and the air pressure inside the inner pipe is pressurized and supplied to the inside of the inner pipe by the air suction pipe so that the air pressure inside the inner pipe and the main body constituting cylinder are 4. The laser beam delivery nozzle with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the laser beam delivery nozzle can be set higher than the air pressure in the space between the inner tubes. The laser according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the main body constituting cylinder is a coupling structure of two cylinders of a main body portion and a head portion, and the head portion is detachably connected by a connecting portion. Laser beam delivery nozzle with debris suction / exhaust mechanism. 6. The laser beam delivery with a laser debris suction / exhaust mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the inner tube and the transmission window are detachably connected by a connecting portion, and the transmission window can be attached. nozzle.