Aerotech's Galvanometer Scanner Increases Field of View for Laser Micromachining

Aerotech’s AGV-SPO single-pivot-point galvanometer scanner provides a larger field of view and reduced spot distortion for laser micromachining applications. The optical design effectively controls the beam entrance pupil to be coincident for the X and Y scanner motion, increasing the effective numerical aperture of the scanner system. It thus enables a larger field of view for a given focal length and reduces spot distortion over the entire working area. These advantages allow the AGV-SPO to process larger parts faster with greater consistency, the company says.

The galvanometer is available with a selection of optical coatings and focusing optics to support a variety of commonly used laser wavelengths and focal lengths. Customized optics and optical mounting features are also available, upon request. The AGV-SPO can be configured with active cooling features such as air-cooled mirrors and/or water-cooled motors to preserve working-plane accuracy in the presence of thermal disturbances caused by the laser and aggressive motion profiles.

With Aerotech’s motion and Position Synchronized Output (PSO) capabilities, contouring functions such as Acceleration Limiting can be used to automatically reduce speeds in tight corners or small radii, minimizing overshoot. The laser can be triggered based on the position feedback of the mirrors with PSO to ensure consistent spot overlap as the scanner changes speed. The company’s Infinite Field of View (IFOV) function combines servo and scanner motion to extend the marking capability of the scanner across the entire travel range of the servo stages, eliminating stitching errors that can occur in a traditional move-expose-repeat process.