Aplanatic beam shaping for diffraction limited beam circularization of tapered laser diodes

Arne Heinrich; Clemens Hagen; Maximilian Harlander; Bernhard Nussbaumer

doi:10.1117/12.2039355

7 March 2014 Aplanatic beam shaping for diffraction limited beam circularization of tapered laser diodes

Arne Heinrich, Clemens Hagen, Maximilian Harlander, Bernhard Nussbaumer

Proceedings Volume 8965, High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications XII; 89650W (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2039355
Event: SPIE LASE, 2014, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Many laser applications require a circular, astigmatism-free, diffraction limited, high power beam. A tapered laser diode can generate up to 6 W output power in a diffraction limited beam. However the beam is elliptical and highly astigmatic rendering the design of beam shaping challenging. We present a diffraction limited beam shaping design, especially suitable to circularize and collimate highly astigmatic beams. The setup consists of a simple plano-convex cylindrical lens in the aplanatic condition and an asphere. The first lens matches the divergence of the fast- to the slow axis at the point where the beam is circular while the following asphere collimates the beam. The aplanatic condition is fulfilled by choosing a glass with a specific refractive index depending on the ratio between fast- and slow axis divergence. This cylindrical lens introduces neither spherical error nor primary coma, which makes it insensitive to misalignment. The setup has been tested with a high power laser diode at 980 nm with a 6 mm long taper (angle 6°) and a facet width of 425 μm. The optics have a transmission of about 90% and the resulting beam has a M² < 1.5. As a proof of principle 3.2 W were coupled into a 15 μm (NA 0.06) LMA fiber with 55% efficiency corresponding to a brightness B = 140 MW/(cm² sr). Furthermore the presented beam shaping can easily be extended to bars or multiple emitters to reach power levels that are to date only achievable with complex wavelength combination techniques.

Citation Download Citation

Arne Heinrich, Clemens Hagen, Maximilian Harlander, and Bernhard Nussbaumer "Aplanatic beam shaping for diffraction limited beam circularization of tapered laser diodes", Proc. SPIE 8965, High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications XII, 89650W (7 March 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2039355

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