Optical mixing/demixing device.

摘要

An optical mixing/demixing device is provided comprising a series of solid, light transmitting blocks (2 to 5), each having opposed, front and rear parallel, planar faces (10 to 17), coated with optical interference multilayer coatings (26 to 33), and first and second light transmitting faces (18 to 25) arranged one on each side of the front planar faces (10, 12, 14, 16). The blocks (2 to 5) are packed side by side with a precision, light expanding and collimating lens (34) on the first light transmitting face (18) and further, similar precision lenses (38 to 41) on each of the second light transmitting faces (22 to 25). The blocks are packed so that when the device is used in the demixing mode (Figure 1) a light beam passing through the first lens (34) is expanded and collimated and directed through the first light transmitting face (18), to traverse the foremost block (2) at which point only a particular spectral region of the beam will be reflected internally within the first block by the optical interference multilayer coating (27) on the rear planar surface (11) to then reflectably rebound in zigzag fashion between the optical interference multilayer coatings (26, 27) on that block to finally exit from that block through the second light transmitting face (22) and be converged by the second lens (38), while the remainder of the spectral region of the beam will pass through the optical interference coating (27) on the rear surface (11) of the foremost block (2) to enter the first light transmitting face (19) of the next block (3) where a different spectral region of the beam is reflectively rebounded between the optical interference multilayer coatings (28, 29) in a similar manner, and so on with different spectral regions being reflectively rebounded through each succeeding body, and, when the device is used in the mixing mode, light beams of different spectral regions are fed by the second lenses (38 to 41) into the second light transmitting faces (22 to 25) to exit mixed from the first light transmitting face (18) through the first lens (34). The first and second light transmitting faces (18 to 25) may also be coated with optical interference multilayer coatings that are pass band filters.