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Laser beam-quality/aperture-shape scaling relation

Journal Article · · Appl. Opt.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.25.001394· OSTI ID:5815560
Many high-energy lasers (HELs) have noncircular output apertures. Some are rectangular in shape with or without a central or noncentral (up to 30%) obscuration. However, most high-energy laser propagation codes (especially those developed for systems analysis) model the aperture as either an unobscured circle or as a circle with fixed (e.g., 10%) obscuration. We present a beam-quality/aperture-shape scaling relation which can be useful when applying these codes to realistic designs for HELs. our analysis also yields a generalized formula for angular size of the Airy disk and definitions of a characteristic aperture length and aperture quality.
Research Organization:
Naval Postgraduate School, Department of Operations Research, Monterey, California 93943
OSTI ID:
5815560
Journal Information:
Appl. Opt.; (United States), Journal Name: Appl. Opt.; (United States) Vol. 25:9; ISSN APOPA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English