Research progress of beam shaping technology and its application

The beam output by a laser is usually described by a Gaussian distribution. In order to improve the uniformity of the beam distribution and the energy utilization rate to meet actual needs, the beam needs to be shaped. In this paper, several shaping techniques are sum-marized and divided into two categories: static optical elements and dynamic optical elements. The research progress, basic principles, factors affecting the shaping effect and practical applicati-ons of aspheric lens group, birefringent lens group, diffractive optical element, microlens array and liquid crystal spatial light modulator shaping system are introduced respectively. The advantages of liquid crystal spatial light modulator compared with other shaping methods are summarized, and its development prospect is prospected.