Beam-shaping method for uniform illumination by superposition of tilted Gaussian beams

摘要

Efficient beam shaping with uniform illumination is required in laser active imaging and detecting systems. In this paper, a beam-shaping method by superposition of tilted fundamental-mode Gaussian beams to produce nearly uniform illumination is proposed. The analytical formula for the average intensity of propagating multitilted Gaussian beams (MTGBs) is derived and used to study the uniformity of the beam profile with Fourier analysis. It is found that the MTGB maintains its flat-topped shape as it propagates and its uniformity is controlled by the parameters of fundamental-mode beams and superposition. Numerical examples are given. The method is used to reconfigure the beams of a high-power laser diode stack to form a MTGB shape for illumination of a 9×11.6-deg angular field. The simulation results from ASAP software show a shaping efficiency of 75%, and the rms deviation of the irradiance distribution from a flat-top shape is approximately 8%.