ILLUMINATING APPARATUS WITH NONLINEAR OPTICAL ELEMENTS FOR PRODUCING LASER LIGHT IN A BROAD SPECTRAL RANGE WITH HOMOGENEOUS SPECTRAL POWER DENSITY

摘要

Provided is an apparatus for illuminating an object, comprising illuminating optics (8), a module (3) which is arranged upstream of the illuminating optics (8) and has at least two nonlinear optical elements (4; 5; 6) which are arranged one behind the other, and a laser (2) which is arranged upstream of the module (3) and outputs laser radiation (L1) to the module (3), which laser radiation travels sequentially through the elements (4-6), which are arranged one behind the other, and is output to the illuminating optics (8) which can use the laser radiation (L4) coming from the module (3) to illuminate the object, wherein each nonlinear element (4; 5; 6) effects, due to its nonlinear action, that the spectral bandwidth of the laser radiation (L2; L3; L4) output by the nonlinear element (4; 5; 6) is greater than the spectral bandwidth of the laser radiation (L1; L2; L3) which is coupled into the nonlinear element (4; 5; 6), and wherein the apparatus has a control circuit which measures intensity fluctuations of the laser radiation (L4) coming from the module (3) and drives, as a function of the measured intensity fluctuations, a controllable component of the apparatus such that the intensity fluctuations are at least partially compensated for.