Abstract

The propagation and focusing characteristics of real laser beams are greatly influenced by beam shape, phase patterns and aberrations, degree of coherence, polarization, and aperture truncation effects. The ability to understand, predict, correct and utilize these laser beam properties is essential to modern optical engineering. Attendees of this short course will be introduced to a variety of techniques for measuring and quantifying the important characteristics of real laser beams, be able to calculate the effects of these characteristics on optical system performance, and explore a variety of beam shaping techniques to optimize specific optical systems.

© 2023 IEEE