User defined intensity profile laser beam

Patent · 13 April 2021

OSTI ID:1823854

Drachenberg, Derrek R.; Dawson, Jay W.; Guss, Gabriel M.; Pax, Paul H.; Rubenchik, Alexander M.; Matthews, Manyilibo J.

A high-power laser beam with an arbitrary intensity profile is produced. Such beam has a variety of uses including for laser materials processing such as powder bed fusion additive manufacturing. Several challenges in additive manufacturing are mitigated with the present non-uniform intensity laser profiles. Nonuniform shapes include a set of intensity pixels in a line that could print a wide stripe area instead of just a single line. One example uses the multimode interference pattern from the output of a ribbon fiber which is imaged onto a work piece. The interference pattern is controlled to allow turning on or off of ‘pixels’ along a line which can be used to shape the beam and form the additively manufactured part.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC52-07NA27344
• Assignee: Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (Livermore, CA)
• Patent Number(s): 10,978,849
• Application Number: 16/263,422
• OSTI ID: 1823854
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English