CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0081292, filed on Jul. 12, 2018, and 10-2019-0082686, filed on Jul. 9, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure herein relates to a laser module and a laser system including the same, and more particularly, to a laser module including an optical system that outputs a laser beam, and a laser system including the same.

A laser beam is formed by using light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation, and has characteristics of mono-chromaticity, directionality, and high brightness. The laser system has been developed so that a laser beam having a high output may be oscillated according to demands in various industrial fields. An efficient method for improving an output of a laser beam is to oscillate a laser beam in a pulse type. In order to make a laser beam of a pulse type, technologies such as Q switching or mode-locking have been developed. Furthermore, as a method for further raising energy of a pulse, a method for amplifying pulse energy or the like through an additional optical system has been developed. A laser system for oscillating a high output laser beam has a plurality of optical systems. As the number of optical systems increases in a laser system, researches are required for facilitating optical alignment between the optical systems.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a modularized laser system and a laser module therefor.

An embodiment of the inventive concept provides a laser module, which receives a first laser beam and outputs a second laser beam different from the first laser beam, the laser module including: an optical system configured to modulate the first laser beam into the second laser beam and output the second laser beam; a first mirror disposed on an optical path of the first or second laser beam defined in the laser module, the first mirror reflecting the first laser beam to the optical system; a first sensor disposed adjacent to the first mirror and configured to sense the first laser beam incident to the first mirror; a second mirror disposed on the optical path to reflect the second laser beam to an outside of the laser module; and a first driver connected to the second mirror and configured to rotate the second mirror.

In an embodiment, the optical system may include at least one among a pulse stretcher, an amplifier, or a pulse compressor.

In an embodiment, the second laser beam may be different from the first laser module in at least one among a pulse width, a pulse spectrum, intensity, or a polarization direction.

In an embodiment, the laser module may further include a control unit connected to the first sensor and configured to receive a sensing signal for the first laser beam from the first sensor to generate a driving signal.

In an embodiment, the laser module may further include: a first terminal connected to the control unit; and a second terminal connected to the first driver.

In an embodiment, the first mirror may include a semi-transmissive mirror, and the first sensor includes a charge-coupled element configured to sense the first laser beam penetrating through the first mirror.

In an embodiment, the laser module may further include a second driver connected to the first mirror and configured to rotate the first mirror.

In an embodiment, the laser module may further include: a third mirror disposed behind the first mirror on the optical path; and a second sensor disposed adjacent to the third mirror to sense the first laser beam incident to the third mirror.

In an embodiment, the laser module may further include: a second driver connected to the first mirror and configured to rotate the first mirror; a third mirror disposed behind the first mirror on the optical path; a second sensor disposed adjacent to the third mirror and configured to sense the first laser beam incident to the third mirror; and a control unit configured to receive a sensing signal for the first laser beam from the second sensor and provide the second driver with a driving signal.

In an embodiment of the inventive concept, a laser system includes: a first laser module; and a second laser module configured to receive a laser beam from the first laser module, wherein the first laser module includes: a first optical system configured to output a first laser beam; a first mirror configured to reflect the first laser beam to the second laser module; and a first driver coupled to the first mirror so as to rotate the first mirror, and wherein the second laser module includes: a second optical system configured to receive the first laser beam and output a second laser beam different from the first laser beam; a second mirror configured to reflect the first laser beam towards the second optical system; and a sensor disposed adjacent to the second mirror and configured to sense the second laser beam incident to the second mirror.

In an embodiment, the second laser module may further include a control unit connected to the sensor and the first driver.

In an embodiment, the control unit may be configured to receive a sensing signal for the first laser beam from the sensor to thereby provide the first driver with a driving signal.

In an embodiment, the sensing signal may include at least one among information on whether the second mirror is irradiated with the first laser beam and information on a position at which the first laser beam is irradiated on a third mirror.

In an embodiment, the first optical system may include at least one among an oscillator, a pulse stretcher, an amplifier, or a pulse compressor.

In an embodiment, the second laser beam may be different from the first laser beam in at least one among a pulse width, a pulse spectrum, intensity or a polarization direction.

In an embodiment, the second laser module may include a third mirror configured to reflect the second laser beam to an outside of the second module and a second driver coupled to the third mirror so as to rotate the third mirror.

In an embodiment, the second mirror may include a semi-transmissive mirror, and the sensor includes a charge-coupled element configured to sense the first laser beam penetrating through the second mirror.

In an embodiment, the first laser module may include a first terminal connected to the first driver, the second laser module may include a control unit connected to the first driver and a second terminal connected to the control unit, and the first terminal and the second terminal may be connected to each other so as to connect the control unit and the first driver.

