ABSTRACT
Beam shaping is the process of redistributing the irradiance and phase of a beam of optical radiation. The irradiance distribution defines the profile of the beam, such as Gaussian, circular, rectangular, annular, or multimode. The phase of the shaped beam determines its propagation properties to a large extent. For example, a reasonably large beam with a uniform phase front will maintain its shape over a considerable propagation distance. On the other hand, a beam with large variations in its phase front will tend to expand and change shape as it propagates. Applications of beam shaping include laser/material processing, laser/material interaction studies, laser weapons, optical data/image processing, lithography, printing, and laser art patterns. Beam shaping technology can be applied to beams with an arbitrary degree of coherence.
