DOE TUNER and BEAM Expander

30 Nov 2015

Accessories for Diffractive Elements

HOLO/OR’s diffractive optical elements are becoming more and more popular, especially for use in beam shaping and beam splitting. These elements withstand high power, which is a crucial advantage. At the same time, the specifications provided are only valid for one optical assembly; thus, these DOEs are rather inflexible in their application options.

In many cases, the use of these elements is economical, despite their limited variability; however, time and again, we receive requests to make diffractive optical elements more variable in their application possibilities. HOLO/OR responded by introducing two new accessory products onto the market: the DOE tuner and the beam expander.

DOE TUNER

The DOE tuner is a variable beam expander with a zoom range between 0.8 and 1.2. Depending on its positioning in the beam path, the tuner delivers different results.

Placed before the Diffractive Element:
If the DOE tuner is placed before a diffractive Top-Hat element in the beam path, the smallest ideal spot can be finely adjusted.  When placed before multi-spot elements, the spot size can be adapted without affecting the distance between the spots.

Placed behind the Diffractive Element:
When placing the tuner behind the DOE and before a focusing lens, the spot size can be adjusted in beam shaping elements.  In multi-spot elements, the spot size can be adjusted in combination with the distance between the spots.

BEAM EXPANDER

The beam expander is used similarly to the DOE tuner.  Instead of a zoom range, it has fixed zoom levels. The beam expander is available in two versions: five times or ten times the magnification. The beam expander was optimised for applications in combination with square Top-Hats and 2-D beam splitters.

Both lens systems feature very small wavefront errors and are especially suited for high-power applications.