Light beam splitter
US4659185A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 21, 1986 |
| Grant date | Apr 21, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 21, 2006 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B27/144
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Apparatus for splitting a light beam into a plurality of parallel beams of equal intensity comprises at least two blocks of isotropic light-transmissive material, each block having one major face, on which the input beam is incident, coated to be partially transmissive, and an opposite parallel major face which is silvered. The blocks are arranged in series so that the input beam, on reaching the first block divides into a reflected part and a transmitted part which enters the block and, after total internal reflection, provides an output beam parallel to the reflected part of the first beam, each subsequent block receiving all parallel beams from the preceding block or blocks. Optical means may be provided in the beam path to ensure that each beam entering each block has equal S- and P- polarization components.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.