Method and System for Determining the Position and Alignment of a Surface of an Object in Relation to a Laser Beam

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to a method and system for determining the position and alignment of a plane in relation to an intersecting axis and using that known position and alignment to allow for corrections to be made when using the plane as a reference plane. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for determining the angle of tilt of a planar surface in relation to a laser beam, and using the determined angle of tilt to calculate a correction factor to be applied to the laser beam. Briefly stated, the method and system ultimately calculates a correction factor, z-offset, that is applied when using the laser beam in a procedure.

1 . A method for determining the focus of a laser beam about a surface of an object, the method comprising the steps of: 
 providing an object having a surface;    providing a laser system for generating a laser beam;    focusing a laser beam at or near the surface, wherein the laser beam is reflected back from the surface;    detecting a fringe pattern created by interference between the reflected laser beam and a reference beam; and    extracting a focal position of the laser beam relative to the surface using the fringe pattern.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the detecting step includes: 
 providing an interferometer; and    utilizing the interferometer to analyze the fringe pattern.    
     
     
         3 . A laser system for determining the focus of a laser beam about a surface of an object, the system comprising: 
 a laser system for generating a laser beam, the laser system having a central processing unit, the central processing unit configured for instructing movement of the laser beam;    an interferometer for detecting a fringe pattern, the interferometer interconnected with the laser system; and    a software program for execution on the central processing unit, the software program configured for: 
 focusing a laser beam at or near the surface, wherein the laser beam is reflected back from the surface;  
 detecting a fringe pattern created by interference between the reflected laser beam and a reference beam; and  
 extracting a focal position of the laser beam relative to the surface using the fringe pattern.  
   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein extracting the focal position further comprises: 
 determining a fringe curvature sign and a fringe curvature magnitude for fringes within the fringe pattern; and    determining the focal position from the fringe curvature sign and the fringe curvature magnitude.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein extracting the focal position comprises: 
 detecting edges of the fringes within the fringe pattern;    fitting polynomial curves to the detected edges, wherein each fitted polynomial curve determines an edge curvature sign and an edge curvature magnitude for each respective fringe; and    averaging the edge curvature magnitudes to determine the fringe curvature magnitude.    
     
     
         6 . The laser system of  claim 3  wherein extracting the focal position further comprises: 
 determining a fringe curvature sign and a fringe curvature magnitude for fringes within the fringe pattern; and    determining the focal position from the fringe curvature sign and the fringe curvature magnitude.    
     
     
         7 . The laser system of claim  8 , wherein extracting the focal position further comprises: 
 detecting edges of the fringes within the fringe pattern;    fitting polynomial curves to the detected edges, wherein each fitted polynomial curve determines an edge curvature sign and an edge curvature magnitude for each respective fringe; and    averaging the edge curvature magnitudes to determine the fringe curvature magnitude.