Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
9.4 optomechanics
In.a.complex.optical.system,.three-dimensional.presentation.of.the.system.is.very.useful.for.visualizing.
how.the.components.it.together..Many.visualization.tools.have.been.developed.in.the.modern.optical.
design. sotware. packages. to. assist. scientists. and. engineers. to. understand. the. overall. optical. system.
layout..More.complicated.computer-aided.design.(CAD).mechanical.engineering.tools.provide.detailed.
layout.of.the.complex.system—for.example,.AutoCAD,.SolidWorks,.and.Pro-E..Optical.design.sotware.
can.usually.export.design.data.in.a.format.that.can.be.translated.into.the.format.that.is.readable.by.most.
mechanical.CAD.sotware.packages..Commercial.suppliers.of.components.oten.provide.detailed.opti-
cal.and.optomechanical.CAD.models.that.can.be.downloaded.from.their.websites.in.the.mechanical.
CAD.sotware.format.to.assist.design.integration.and.visualization.
In.general,.optomechanical.design.starts.from.the.exported.version.of.the.optical.design.and.it.usu-
ally.displays.ray.traces.and.element.surfaces..Design.modiication.is.typically.needed.to.display.the.full.
three-dimensional. models. with. details.. he. three-dimensional. computer. models. of. the. system. hard-
ware.integrated.with.the.beam.paths.(shown.in.Figure.9.5).are.very.useful.for.quickly.identifying.the.
conlicts.between.any.components.and.light.paths..When.designing.a.compact.AO.system,.CAD.tools.
are.particularly.helpful.to.identify.the.space.constraint.limitation,.especially.in.a.situation.where.optical.
paths.are.folded.by.mirrors.
A.good.optomechanical.design.for.an.AO.system.will.require.serious.considerations.of.several.aspects.
of. the. system. such. as. functionality,. tolerances,. alignment. aids,. characterization,. and. adaptability..
Functionality.in.biological.imaging.typically.means.the.CCD.camera.records.the.imaging.at.high.reso-
lution..his.is.achieved.by.optimizing.the.optical.design.and.picking.high-quality.optical.components.
FIGuRE 9.5
An.example.of.a.three-dimensional.CAD.optical.system.layout.
