Diffractive, aspheric, or spherical beam transformers: a comparison in manufacturability

John G. Smith; Andrew Stockham

doi:10.1117/12.796073

12 September 2008 Diffractive, aspheric, or spherical beam transformers: a comparison in manufacturability

John G. Smith, Andrew Stockham

Proceedings Volume 7062, Laser Beam Shaping IX; 70620L (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.796073
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2008, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Near field beam shaping optics, also called beam transformers, remap an input Gaussian profile to a top-hat profile. The top-hat profile is created at some working distance away from the shaping element where a corrector element is placed to "flatten" the phase of the top-hat profile to allow it to propagate some finite distance as a "collimated" beam. Creating a top-hat profile requires the surface of the shaping element to be highly aberrated resulting in designs that are typically either a diffractive surface or an aspheric surface each composed of many higher-order aspheric coefficients. Diffractives and higher-order refractive designs offer several challenges and limitations in manufacturing. The design space of using all spherical elements or even a combination of aspheric and spherical elements has not been completely explored to see if there are any advantages of reducing the manufacturing tolerances or limitations for beam shaping systems. This paper will explore the comparison of the number of elements required for diffractive, aspheric, and spherical designs to meet the same beam shaping requirement and provide details related to the manufacturability of each type of design.

Citation Download Citation

John G. Smith and Andrew Stockham "Diffractive, aspheric, or spherical beam transformers: a comparison in manufacturability", Proc. SPIE 7062, Laser Beam Shaping IX, 70620L (12 September 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.796073

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KEYWORDS

Aspheric lenses

Beam shaping

Transformers

Chemical elements

Manufacturing

Spherical lenses

Optical spheres

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