The stirring of the molten material during CO 2 laser welding with a dynamic polarised laser beam (DP) was studied. The key element of the set-up is a high power interference laser beam modulator for CW power rating up to 4 kW. Metallographic cross-sections and EDX analyses of the realised welds in St37 using the contrast material nickel proved the enhancement of melt pool stirring due to DP. Moreover, roughness measurements confirmed a smoothing of the top bead surface as well as a correlation between melt pool stirring and the formation of the top bead ripple structure.