Acousto-Optic Control of the Energy Profile of Laser Radiation

Abstract

An acousto-optic shaper is developed for transformation of the Gaussian beam profile into almost rectangular profile. As distinct from lens devices, an acousto-optic device allows modification of the shape of the output beam in a fixed optical configuration using changes in radio control with relatively short response times of about 10 μs. The method is based on multibeam high-efficiency Bragg diffraction when the diffraction orders are overlapped with respect to angle. It is shown that the beam profile can be transformed into rectangular and more complicated profiles with an efficiency of no less than 80%. The experiments are performed using the TeO₂ crystal.