LASER BEAM REGULATOR DEVICE, LASER BEAM ENERGY STABILIZATION DEVICE, LASER BEAM REGULATION METHOD, AND LASER BEAM ENERGY STABILIZATION METHOD

摘要

The present invention provides a laser beam control apparatus including: beam optical systems 33 and 34 for dividing a laser beam into a principal beam P and an auxiliary beam S and then for crossing the principal beam P and the auxiliary beam S; polarizing devices 36 and 37 for converting the laser beam before the division process into a linearly-polarized beam or converting the laser beams after the division process into linearly-polarized beams; a polarization direction change element 38 for changing the polarization direction of either one or both of the principal beam P and the auxiliary beam S; an optical gate element 35 provided at the intersection of the principal beam P and the auxiliary beam S and made of a material that exhibits the optical Kerr effect; and a polarization filter 39 for taking out from the principal beam P which has passed through the optical gate element 35 only a beam polarized in a predetermined direction.