Warran Boyd Lineton

A new method for direct imaging of high-power near-IR lasers

Direct spatial profiling of high power near IR lasers can be extremely useful in determining the applicability of these lasers in materials processing. Because of the construction of these lasers, direct imaging in real time has been nearly impossible due to the high energy density at the focus. It is not possible to image a raw beam, because there is no raw beam in the conventional sense. We discuss the construction of a new imaging target that allows direct spatial imaging at the focus of these lasers, and give examples of its applicability.