Asking the right questions leads to best optical shutter design, writes Vincent's Pasquarella

Electromechanical shutters are vital components in a broad spectrum of optical assemblies and systems. Shutter requirements are sometimes not apparent or considered during optical system design; other times, they need to be expanded upon after the launch of a system. Additionally, requirements may be added by the ultimate end user of a system that necessitate the implementation of a shutter into the design.

Shutters similar to the Uniblitz RS20B are well suited for thin space envelopes due to the low-profile design.
Shutters similar to Vincent Associates’ Uniblitz RS20B are well suited for thin space envelopes due to the low-profile design.

The perceived simple nature of a shutter (a device that opens and closes to gate light) leads to a tendency for its consideration to be left until later in the design cycle, or when a prerequisite of the design reveals a specified need. Such scenarios can potentially raise havoc with a product’s development cycle, especially if the nature of the design requires significant time to accomplish lifetime qualification, prove new material interactions, and/or develop special test equipment for the customer’s ongoing production qualification. For example, doing a lifetime-qualification test of a larger-aperture device such as a 65 mm shutter at a test rate of slightly greater than 1 Hz and a specified lifetime of 2.2 million operations can take more than 25 days to complete even for around-the-clock testing.

This article discusses a few cases where the system integrators/designers did not consider the need for a shutter device during the design pre-stages, resulting in project delays, costs adjustments, and additional testing. However, understanding certain criteria and asking a number of questions of the shutter-design team can help the design engineer to predict the need for a shutter early on and to allow for more consistent development and implementation.

Read More: http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-50/issue-10/features/optical-shutters-asking-the-right-questions-leads-to-best-shutter-design.html

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Event Calendar

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5

Event Details & Registration

View Events

About Us

New York Photonics is a not-for-profit organization founded to promote and enhance the New York State optics, photonics and imaging industry by fostering the cooperation of business, academia and government.

Archives

Past Newsletters