Title :
Beam reformatting of one- and two-dimensional arrays of CO2 waveguide lasers
Author :
Villarreal, F.J. ; Baker, H.J. ; Abram, R.H. ; Jones, D.R. ; Hall, D.R.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Phys., Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh, UK
fDate :
3/1/1999 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The conversion of a linear to rectangular array beam is demonstrated for multi-element RF excited CO2 waveguide lasers using the two-mirror beam shaping technique introduced by Clarkson and Hanna. High efficiency conversion of a one-dimensional array into a rectangular array format has been achieved with the reformatting mirrors in the near-field and with no auxiliary optical elements. The brightness of a 2-kW 64-element two dimensional array has been enhanced by a factor of 2 using a modified version of the reformatting technique to improve the fill factor of the array beam
Keywords :
carbon compounds; gas lasers; laser arrays; laser beams; laser mirrors; waveguide lasers; 1D CO2 waveguide laser arrays; 2 kW; 2D CO2 waveguide laser arrays; CO2; array beam; auxiliary optical elements; beam reformatting; brightness; fill factor; high efficiency conversion; linear array beam; multi-element RF excited CO2 waveguide lasers; rectangular array beam; reformatting mirrors; reformatting technique; two-mirror beam shaping technique; Brightness; Laser beams; Laser mode locking; Mirrors; Optical arrays; Optical waveguides; Phased arrays; Semiconductor laser arrays; Surface emitting lasers; Waveguide lasers;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
