Flat-Top Line-Shaped Beam Shaping and System Design

Abstract

In this study, the circular Gaussian spot emitted by a laser light source is shaped into a rectangular flat-top beam to improve the scanning efficiency of a selective laser sintering scanning system. A CO2 laser with a power of 200 W, wavelength of 10.6 µm, and spot diameter of 9 mm is shaped into a flat-top spot with a length and width of 0.5 × 0.1 mm, and the mapping function and flat-top Lorentzian function are calculated. We utilize ZEMAX to optimize the aspherical cylindrical lens of the shaping system and the cylindrical lens of the focusing system. We then calculate the energy uniformity of the flat-top line-shaped beam at distances from 500 to 535 mm and study the zoom displacement of the focusing lens system. The results indicated that the energy uniformity of the flat-top beam was greater than 80% at the distances considered, and the focusing system must precisely control the displacement of the cylindrical lens in the Y-direction to achieve precise zooming.