Dark field illumination for laser beam delivery system

1. An illuminated camera system, comprising:

a dark field illuminator;

a high dynamic range (HDR) camera system comprising an HDR video camera and a lensing system;

a beam splitter optically interposed between the dark field illuminator and the HDR camera system; and

a support mounting that carries the dark field illuminator, the HDR camera system and the beam splitter;

the dark field illuminator, the HDR camera system and the beam splitter being arranged relative to one another so that the dark field illuminator and the HDR camera share a common field of view;

whereby, when the illuminated camera system is arranged so that the common field of view is in registration with a camera port on a laser beam delivery system having laser beam delivery system optics and positioned to deliver a laser beam over a substrate:

light from the dark field illuminator is transmitted through the beam splitter, through the common field of view, through the camera port and through the laser beam delivery system optics to the substrate; and

reflected light from the substrate is transmitted through the laser beam delivery system optics, through the camera port, through the common field of view, and reflected from the beam splitter to the HDR camera system;

wherein the HDR camera system further comprises:

an attenuating filter optically interposed between the beam splitter and the lensing system of the HDR camera system, wherein the attenuating filter is:

substantially completely transparent to wavelengths of at least one light source of the dark field illuminator; and

transmissive to wavelengths of a pilot laser of the laser beam delivery system; but

substantially less transmissive to the wavelengths of the pilot laser than to the wavelengths of the at least one light source of the dark field illuminator;

wherein the HDR camera system further comprises:

a path-defining filter optically interposed between the beam splitter and the lensing system of the HDR camera system, wherein the path-defining filter is:

substantially completely opaque to the wavelengths of the pilot laser; and

shaped to provide a peripheral off-axis optical path between the beam splitter and the lensing system of the HDR camera system wherein the peripheral off-axis optical path bypasses the path-defining filter rather than passing through it.

2. A method for observing laser operations on a substrate, the method comprising:

simultaneously:

directing dark field illumination through a camera port of a laser beam delivery system, whereby the dark field illumination is transmitted through laser beam delivery system optics of the laser beam delivery system onto the substrate; and

using a high dynamic range (HDR) camera system to observe, through the camera port of the laser beam delivery system, light reflected from the substrate and transmitted through the laser beam delivery system optics of the laser beam delivery system to the camera port of the laser beam delivery system;

further comprising:

attenuating intensity of wavelengths of a pilot laser of the laser beam delivery system reaching a lensing system of the HDR camera system; and

confining the wavelengths of the pilot laser of the laser beam delivery system reaching the lensing system of the HDR camera system to a peripheral, off-axis optical path.