Partially coherent laser beam shaping in a zoom homogenizer

Abstract

This paper proposes a synthesis method including wave optics and geometric optics to design the zoom homogenizer for partially coherent laser beams and discusses the effects of the spatial coherence and system parameters on the beam performance. Based on the principles of pseudo-mode representation and matrix optics, a numerical model for fast simulation has been built and the parameter constraints for avoiding beamlet crosstalk have been presented. The relation of the size and the divergence angle of the highly uniform beams formed in the defocused plane with system parameters has been developed. The variations in the intensity profile and the uniformity of the variable-size beams during zooming have been explored.