Abstract

We present numerical simulations of the propagation of the field emitted by laser arrays consisting of a small number of elements. Our computations show how propagation transforms part of an amplitude modulation into a phase modulation. This fact can be used to enhance the central lobe energy in the far field of high-power laser arrays by means of a simple corrective optical element. We discuss optimal filtering conditions and prove that the quarter-Talbot distance generally used in previous studies is not the best choice.

© 1993 Optical Society of America

High-brightness diode laser arrays integrated with a phase shifter designed for single-lobe far-field pattern

Lei Liu, Jianxin Zhang, Shaodong Ma, Aiyi Qi, Hongwei Qu, Yejin Zhang, and Wanhua Zheng
Opt. Lett. 38(15) 2770-2772 (2013)

High-brightness output from a laser-diode array coupled to a phase-conjugating mirror

Stuart MacCormack and Jack Feinberg
Opt. Lett. 18(3) 211-213 (1993)

Nonlinear restrictions of Talbot-like spatial filters in semiconductor laser arrays

R. F. Nabiev, M. D. Iturbe-Castillo, J. J. Sanchez-Mondragon, A. I. Onishchenko, and D. Botez
Appl. Opt. 32(24) 4480-4484 (1993)

Binary phase plates cannot improve laser beam quality

A. E. Siegman
Opt. Lett. 18(9) 675-677 (1993)

Efficient conversion of light from sparse laser arrays into single-lobed far field using phase structures

M. Khajavikhan, A. Hoyer-Leitzel, and J. R. Leger
Opt. Lett. 33(20) 2377-2379 (2008)