Beam Tilt Aberration Detection of the Seven-Unit Phased Fiber Laser Array

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Systems Engineering
• Optical Metrology

Background:

• Phased fiber laser array systems are crucial for high-power laser applications.
• Accurate detection of tilt aberrations is essential for maintaining beam quality and system performance.
• Existing methods for aberration detection can be complex and computationally intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new method for detecting tilt aberrations in phased fiber laser array systems.
• To improve the accuracy and reduce the complexity of aberration detection.
• To enable simultaneous detection of tilt aberrations in multi-element fiber laser arrays.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the conjugate image principle and micro-nano optics.
• Employed a co-aperture optics system for simultaneous detection of tilt aberrations in a seven-element phased fiber laser array.
• Designed a Kepler telescope to establish conjugate relationships and match beam sizes.
• Applied apochromatic theory for multispectral detection (1064 nm, 1030 nm, 633 nm).
• Incorporated a far-field detection unit for beam quality evaluation.

Main Results:

• Achieved direct detection of beam tilt angle with high accuracy.
• Demonstrated a detection accuracy of approximately 7 µrad for the seven-element system.
• Showcased a sensitivity of 0.7 µrad for a 1-pixel beam offset.
• Successfully reduced algorithm complexity while maintaining detection accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method effectively detects tilt aberrations in phased fiber laser array systems.
• The system offers a significant improvement in accuracy and reduced complexity compared to existing methods.
• This technique is valuable for real-time monitoring and control of laser beam quality in complex optical systems.