Laser Beam Shaping

Fred M. Dickey received his BS (1964) and MS (1965) degrees from Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, USA, and his Ph.D degree (1975) from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA. A SPIE fellow and IEEE senior member, he heads FMD Consulting, LLC, Springfield, Missouri, USA. He is the author of over 100 papers and book chapters, holds 9 patents, and started the SPIE Laser Beam Shaping Conference (currently in its 15th year). He chaired the conference for the first 8 years, and now serves as a committee member.

"… an authoritative account on the theoretical aspects underlying the field of laser beam shaping. Written in a formal and clear style, the book ensures each topic is developed in detail, from the basic concepts to more elaborate ones, and always supported by an excellent mathematical treatment. … The authors have done an excellent work by identifying the fundamental aspects of laser beam shaping, and have managed to put [the information] all in one place in a clear, coherent, and easy-to-follow way, making this book a self-contained and valuable reference for the engineer, scientist, student, or anyone with a need for using laser beam shaping techniques."—Raul Hernandez, Department of Physics, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico"This is a super follow up to the first edition, which is already established as the reference text on the subject. If you want to get started with laser beam shaping, this is a good text to begin from. I think it will be useful to those with an academic interest in the subject, as well as to those who wish to simply get going with a practical laser beam shaping application. I will certainly use the book myself and would happily recommend it to others."—Prof. Andrew Forbes, CSIR National Laser Centre, Pretoria, South Africa"… covers the major technical areas of beam shaping in outstanding detail and clarity. … The clear, careful, and rigorous descriptions make this easy to read and easy to absorb."—Sandra G. Biedron, Ph.D, Advanced Beam Laboratory, Colorado State University Foothills Campus, Fort Collins, USA"... addresses the theory and practice of very important techniques for lossless laser beam shaping. New beam shaping methods, advanced beam profile measurement, and new material on optics and software have been added. This book is ... a valuable tool for optical engineers, scientists, and students."—Lisa Tongning Li, Inphenix, Inc, Livermore, California, USA, from Optics & Photonics News, February 19, 2015

• Introduction. The Mathematical and Physical Theory of Lossless Beam Shaping. Laser-Beam-Splitting Gratings. Vortex Beam Shaping. Gaussian Beam Shaping: Diffraction Theory and Design. Geometrical Methods. Optimization-Based Designs. Beam Shaping with Diffractive Diffusers. Engineered Microlens Diffusers. Multi-Aperture Beam Integration Systems. Axicon Ring Generation Systems. Current Technology of Beam Profile Measurement. Classical (Nonlaser) Methods.