9.2.2 Wobble

The wobble functionality of the SP-ICE-3 Card imparts additional complex harmonic motion to the laser beam in the x/y plane, whenever the laser is active.

With appropriate parameter values, wobble can effectively widen the path marked by the laser beam, without changing the actual beam diameter of the laser source.

Beam widening with Wobble enabled.

Note
When wobble is enabled, it takes effect whenever the laser is active. This condition is not confined to vector marking operations: the beam will also be wobbled after a LASER_ON command, for instance.

Note

When wobble is enabled, it takes effect whenever the laser is active.

This condition is not confined to vector marking operations: the beam will also be wobbled after a LASER_ON command, for instance.

Overview

The harmonic motion imparted by wobble takes the form of a Lissajous curve, described by the following formulae:

x_t = A_X⋅sin( 2πf_X⋅t + δ_X )
y_t = A_Y⋅sin( 2πf_Y⋅t + δ_Y )
Where:
- A: amplitude
- f: frequency
- t: time
- δ: phase offset

For further information about Lissajous curves, please refer to the standard mathematical literature.

Parameters

Parameters for the Lissajous curve used when wobbling can be set with either RAYLASE.SPICE3ProcessVariables, or RAYLASE.SPICE3.ClientLibCommandList entries.

The API also provides helper functions to conveniently set parameters for wobbling with circular and figure-of-eight curves, as shown above.

Description	ProcessVariables	CommandList
Enable or disable wobbling.	(Only available as a list command.)	AppendEnableWobble
The x and y amplitudes of the wobble curve in μm.	WobbleSettingsAmplitude	AppendWobbleAmplitude
The x and y frequencies of the wobble curve in MHz.	WobbleSettingsFrequency	AppendWobbleFrequency
The x and y phases of the wobble curve in radians.	WobbleSettingsPhase	AppendWobblePhase
Helper function for circular wobbling.	WobbleSettingsSetCircle(Double, Double)	AppendWobbleCircle(Double, Double)
Helper function for figure-of-eight wobbling.	WobbleSettingsSetEight(Point2D, Double)	AppendWobbleEight(Point2D, Double)

Implementation

On the SP-ICE-3 Card:

When the wobble feature is enabled, it takes effect whenever the laser is active.
Once wobble has been enabled, it will remain so until one of the following happens:
- It is explicitly disabled.
- An error occurs.
- Execution is aborted by the API call or an external signal.
- ResetToDefaults is executed.
- The SP-ICE-3 Card is rebooted.
The entire Lissajous curve will be rotated automatically to maintain alignment with the current direction of movement in the x/y plane.
- When a change of direction occurs, the new rotation angle is not applied instantaneously, but rather step by step over a period of time equal to the AxisParameterSetTrackingError.
Wobble works only in the x/y plane; the z axis, if present, is not taken into account.