Beam shaping with high energy utilization and uniformity using gradient orthogonal gratings

A flattop beam is useful in ultrafast laser processing. A laser beam shaping method for high energy utilization and uniformity is presented using a complex hologram displayed on a spatial light modulator. The hologram consists of a geometric mask, an external blazed grating, and internal gradient orthogonal gratings. The gradient orthogonal gratings can change the incident light energy distribution and obtain flattop beams with high energy utilization. Experimental results show that the presented method can obtain an arbitrary geometric shape with a steep edge and high uniformity. Meanwhile, the bigger the geometric mask size, the higher the energy utilization will be, and it is up to 78.70%.