The laser beam quality factor M{sub}2 and its measurement

摘要

The factor M{sub}2 is a new parameter to describe the laser beam quality, it can characterize the propagation of the fundamental and higher-order mode beam quantitatively. An automatic measurement system has been developed which is capable ofmeasuring the laser beam quality factor M{sub}2.In the paper, the concept and the measurements of the factor M{sub}2 are mentioned,the measurement results and tolerance limits are given.