Beam quality enhancement for unconventional laser formats

Antonio Lapucci; Marco Ciofini

doi:10.1117/12.513516

9 April 2003 Beam quality enhancement for unconventional laser formats

Antonio Lapucci, Marco Ciofini

Proceedings Volume 5131, Third GR-I International Conference on New Laser Technologies and Applications; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.513516
Event: Third GR-I International Conference on New Laser Technologies and Applications, 2003, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

In this paper we review the general problem of Optical Beam Quality for beams that are not simple axial symmetric gaussian beams. We discuss the theoretical studies and experimental results obtained on the beams emitted by compact, medium power, diffusion cooled CO₂ lasers and laser arrays. Our case-studies include a linear array of 9 CO₂ lasers and an annular laser aperture with array-like emission produced by a Talbot cavity. We show that aspects of beam propagation that were founded on Gaussian beam theory need to be re-evaluated when considering these more complex beams. For example different polarization states in array elements lead to different field distributions in the far field and thus to a different beam quality. Furthermore we comment on the limited information given for such structured beams by traditional Beam Quality Factors, such as M², established for nearly-Gaussian beams.

Citation Download Citation

Antonio Lapucci and Marco Ciofini "Beam quality enhancement for unconventional laser formats", Proc. SPIE 5131, Third GR-I International Conference on New Laser Technologies and Applications, (9 April 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.513516

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