Design, performance, and tolerances of an active GRIN laser beam shaper

A. I. Gómez-Varela; C. Bao-Varela; M. T. Flores-Arias

doi:10.1117/12.2026225

18 November 2013 Design, performance, and tolerances of an active GRIN laser beam shaper

A. I. Gómez-Varela, C. Bao-Varela, M. T. Flores-Arias

Proceedings Volume 8785, 8th Iberoamerican Optics Meeting and 11th Latin American Meeting on Optics, Lasers, and Applications; 87854R (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2026225
Event: 8th Ibero American Optics Meeting/11th Latin American Meeting on Optics, Lasers, and Applications, 2013, Porto, Portugal

Abstract

In this paper we present an active GRadient-INdex (GRIN) beam shaper with gain for Gaussian to flat-top beam conversion. This extra-cavity beam shaper is based in the proper design of an active GRIN selfoc rod microlens in order to perform the beam shaping operation. General condition for obtaining beam shaping by active GRIN rod microlenses is shown. Irradiance evolution through the active material for a laser beam operating at 1550 nm and 1.25 mm beam half-width is simulated and the shaping length in each case is determined. The active GRIN beam shaper is sensitive to deviations from design laser parameters such as wavelength and beam diameter, what can have great influence on the output flat-top beam quality. Variations on the design length of the shaper due to fabrication process errors can also emerge on unwanted output irradiance profiles. Here we analyze the sensitivity of the active GRIN beam shaper to the wavelength and beam half-width of the input Gaussian beam, as well as to the length of the GRIN rod lens in order to design a beam shaper that meets requirements within an acceptable tolerance. In this way, flatness quality of the output irradiance profile is examined. For the active beam shaper reported, microlens thickness, input wavelength and beam half-width tolerances are 10%, 10% and 5%, respectively.

Citation Download Citation

A. I. Gómez-Varela, C. Bao-Varela, and M. T. Flores-Arias "Design, performance, and tolerances of an active GRIN laser beam shaper", Proc. SPIE 8785, 8th Iberoamerican Optics Meeting and 11th Latin American Meeting on Optics, Lasers, and Applications, 87854R (18 November 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2026225

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
8 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Beam shaping

GRIN lenses

Microlens

Tolerancing

Gaussian beams

Refractive index

Optical simulations

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years