LASER DIODE

TECHNICAL NOTE 1

Beam Circularization and

Astigmatism-correction

The Diode Optics Challenge

The use of diode lasers is becoming increasingly attractive in
a wide range of applications. Diode lasers are small, efficient
and available with outputs at several red and near-IR
wavelengths. Their low-voltage dc power sources (frequently
just a small battery) can be directly modulated or pulsed to
similarly modulate or pulse the laser output beam. However
there are difficulties associated with adopting diode lasers for
specific applications. In particular, commercial diodes have
very divergent output beams and the diodes can be only-tooeasily damaged by electrostatic pickup etc. Such optical and
electrical problems are most frequently overcome by
incorporating the bare laser diode in a module which
includes correcting optics and protective electrical circuitry.
Most laser diodes are of the edge-emitting type and these
have output beams with elliptical cross sections and some
associated astigmatism. For many applications the ellipticity
and astigmatism are not important, but in other applications
they cause problems.
In this review we discuss the advantages and limitations
of the various methods which can be used in modules to
remove the astigmatism and convert the diodes elliptical
output beam into a circular beam.

laser diodes more likely to operate with multi-longitudinal

Back facet, high
reflection coated

Rectangular
emission facet

Active layer

modes and multi-transverse modes, which is not usually

Elliptical
emission stripe

desirable. But since the active layer of gain-guided laser

diodes can be fabricated to widths of hundreds of microns

x
Polarization
direction

such diodes can generate powers up to 1 Watt or more, and

they are used in applications where beam power is more

important than modal quality. In this review we will not

Figure1 - Laser diodes have a thin active layer with a rectangular

cross section. The emission stripe at one end of the active layer
has an elliptical cross section and is larger than the cross
section of the active layer. The drawing is not to scale.

further consider gain-guided lasers.

As already noted, index-guided low power laser diodes

Optics of the Diode Laser Emission

typically have an active layer with a x-y cross section size

Within a typical edge-emitting diode the light emission is

of about 0.1 m by 3 m. But the (1/e2) diameters of the

created by an electrical current flow across a semiconductor

emission stripe, dx0 and dy0, are larger, due to the beam

active layer, ~0.1 m thick, ~3 m wide and ~100 m long.

spreading into the surrounding lower index material.

The laser beam is emitted from one of the facets in the

Typically dx0 4 m and dy0 1 m, an ellipticity of 4.

x-y plane at the end of the active layer and propagates in the

Different commercial diodes have ellipticities varying from

z direction, as shown in Fig. 1. Because the laser radiation

2.5 to 6. Laser theory shows that the output beam has a

created inside the active layer leaks into the surrounding

Gaussian intensity profile in the x-y plane. The beam

semiconductor volume, the laser output at the active layer

1/e2 intensity diameters in the x and y directions are a

facet (the emitting stripe) is larger than the size of the active

function of z and are given, respectively, by

layer facet and has an elliptical cross section. The output

beam is linearly polarized in the x direction.

dx = dx0 [ 1 + (

M 2z
zRx

)2] 1/2

(1)

Two types of laser diodes are commonly used: index-guided

dy = dx0 [1 + (

M 2z
zRy

)2] 1/2

(2)

and gain-guided. In index-guided laser diodes the active

layer material has a refractive index larger than that of the

where zRx = 4/dx02 and zRy = 4/dy02 are the two Rayleigh

material surrounding the layer. This index difference guides

Ranges of the beam in the x and y directions, respectively,

the laser radiation within the diode and confines the beam

is the laser wavelength and M2 is a factor describing the

to (and close to) the x-y cross-section of the active layer.

deviation of the beam from a fundamental transverse mode

The situation is similar to a piece of glass fiber confining

Gaussian beam. For laser diode beams, we have M2 1.2.

and guiding a laser beam inside it. Because of the large

The terms far field and near field are often used in

confinement and good guidance of the beam, index-guided

literature and are defined as z >> zRx (or z >> zRy) and z ~ zRx

laser diodes are more likely to operate with a single

(or z ~ zRy), respectively. It can be seen that at z = zRx

longitudinal mode and a single transverse mode, and hence

(or z = zRy), dx = 21/2dx0 (or dy = 21/2 dy0). The beam far field

are widely used in those applications requiring good quality

1/e2 full divergent angles x and y, in the x and y directions

beams. Beam powers are typically in the range of a few

respectively, can be obtained by inserting a large z value into

milliwatts up to a few tens of milliwatts. In gain-guided laser

Eqs. (1) and (2). Then

diodes, the refractive indices of the active layer material and

its surrounding material are the same. However the lasing

x =

4 M 2
dx0

(3)

y =

4 M 2
dy0

(4)

process taking place inside the active layer will slightly

increase the index of the active layer. The resultant weak
confinement and guidance of the beam makes gain-guided
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A simple convex lens or GRIN lens can be used, but in most

applications, to obtain a reasonable quality beam, either an
Elliptical
shape beam

aspheric lens or a lens group is used. Both the aperture and

Circular
shape beam

the focal length of most diode beam collimating aspheric

lenses are several millimeters. Usually the numerical aperture

Elliptical
emission stripe

of the lens is smaller than y and the lens aperture clips or

truncates the beam in the y direction.

y
d y0

z
d x0

Figure 2 - The output beam from the emission stripe diverges

rapidly and the beam shape changes as the beam propagates.

The collimated beam has a waist size in the x direction

smaller than in the y direction and the collimated beam
divergence in the x direction is larger than the divergence in
the y direction according to Gaussian optics theory. The

where x and y are in radians. Obviously, since dx0 > dy0, x

collimated beam becomes circular at a certain distance

< y and the output beam will be elliptical. For our typical

beyond the lens and in the far field becomes elliptical with

example, from Eqs. (3) and (4) and assuming = 0.67 m

the major diameter in the x direction as shown in Fig. 3.

we find that x 13 and y 53 , with equivalent 50%

Most importantly the elliptical ratio of the far field beam

intensity divergent angles of 8 and 31 , respectively. Clearly

shape equals dx0/dy0 since the far field beam shape is an image

the emitted beam is elliptical in shape and highly divergent.

of the beam source, the emission stripe. The far field beam

As the beam propagates in the z direction, the beam

intensity profiles in the x and y directions are quasi-

increases its size faster in y direction than in x direction

Gaussian. Fig. 4 shows typical far field intensity profiles of a

because y is larger than x as shown in Fig. 2.

collimated beam, these are also the typical intensity profiles

of the spot of a focused beam. In the y direction the profile

At a distance of several microns from the active layer facet,

usually has two side lobes caused by the beam truncation of

the beam size in the x direction equals the beam size in the

the collimating lens. The intensity profiles and their

y direction and the beam cross section becomes circular.

Gaussian fits are not distinguishable in most part of the

Beyond this distance, the beam cross section is again

profiles except near the side lobes. The side lobes cause

elliptical, but with the major diameter in the y direction.

problems in some applications, but since most lenses

truncate the beam, it is difficult to eliminate them. Side

Beam Collimation and Truncation

lobes of the magnitude of a few percent of the main lobe are

Because of the very large divergence of the diode emission a

often seen. When a lens truncates much of the beam, the

collimating lens must be situated within several millimeters

magnitude of the side lobes can be over 10% of the main

of the emission stripe, close to the window in the diode cap.

lobe and additional side lobes appear, and of course the

Intermediate
field

Far field elliptical

beam or focused
elliptical spot

1
Normalized
intensity

y direction
profile

x direction
profile

Side lobe

Side lobe

Collimating lens
clips the beam

Laser diode

z
x

x or y

Figure 3 - The collimating lens usually clips the beam along

the major axis and the shape of a collimated beam changes
as the beam propagates

Figure 4 - Far field intensity profiles of a

collimated beam. The two vertical dashed lines represent a
circular aperture of diameter a for circularizing the beam.

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Elliptical beam
with elliptical
intensity contours

Near field visually

circular beam with
elliptical intensity
contours

Circular aperture

Side view

Py
Far field
elliptical beam
with diffraction
rings

d0y

Astigmatism

Active layer

Px

d0x

Top view

Figure 5 - Circularizing an elliptical beam with a circular aperture.

Figure 6 - Side view and top view illustrating the origin of astigmatism.

transmitted beam power is significantly reduced. However

Even this small amount of astigmatism for index-guided

such truncation does suggest one simple method of

diodes can cause problems for some applications, for

circularizing a diode beam.

instance when a good optical system is being used to focus

the laser beam on a working plane to a very small spot only a

Beam Circularization with an Aperture

few microns in size. Because of the astigmatism, the focusing

A circular aperture is often used after the collimating lens

lens cannot truly focus the beam in both the x-z and the y-z

to truncate an elliptical beam to visually circular. It can

planes on the working plane. This is because px and py cannot

be seen from Fig. 4 that for a circular aperture with

be simultaneously positioned at the focal point of the optics.

diameter a the ratio of the beam intensity in x and y

But the astigmatism can be corrected by the use of a weak

directions at the aperture edge is about 2, and the smaller

cylindrical lens after the collimating lens as shown in Fig. 7.

the aperture is, the closer to 1 the intensity ratio is and

The focal length required for the cylindrical lens is about

the more visually circular the beam is. However a small

2 m - 4 m, depending on the value of the astigmatism and

circular aperture can cause power loss as high as 80% and

the focal length of the collimating lens. But such a

strong far field diffraction rings. The intensity contours of

collimated and astigmatism-corrected beam still has an

the beam after the aperture are still elliptical as shown in

elliptical cross section and elliptical intensity contours.

Fig. 5 and the beam is still astigmatic. The far field beam
shape will become elliptical since the far field beam is the

Beam Circularization with Anamorphic Prisms

image of the emission stripe.

In many applications a circular cross-section beam is

required. There are three commonly used methods to

Astigmatism and its Correction

circularize an elliptical beam, they involve the use of a

Consider the exact position of the emission from the diode

circular aperture, a pair of anamorphic prisms or a single-

front facet. As illustrated in Fig. 6, tracing the far field beam

mode fiber. Each method has advantages and disadvantages.

backwards, one can reach two different imaginary beam

source points px and py for the x-z and y-z planes respectively,

Side view

because dx0 > dy0 and x < y. This phenomenon is called

astigmatism and the linear distance between px and py is the
magnitude of the astigmatism. For gain-guided diodes the

Active layer

Collimating

Cylindrical lens

astigmatism may be as large as 50 m, but for index-guided,

low power laser diodes the astigmatism is typically only
5 m - 15 m.

Top view

Figure 7 -Astigmatism can be corrected by the use of a

cylindrical lens with long focal length.

-4-

Using a circular aperture is a low-cost technique, but as has

Beam in

been seen, it greatly reduces the power of the beam and adds

Circular aperture

side lobes and diffraction rings to the beam profile. A pair

of anamorphic prisms can be used to circularize a beam

Rotatable
Beam out

with less power loss and without the imposition of strong

Beam out

diffraction rings and lobes. Anamorphic prisms can enlarge

Beam in

or reduce the size of a collimated beam along one axis

Circular
aperture

(x or y) transverse to the beam direction (z) while keeping

Rotatable

the beam size in the perpendicular transverse direction

Figure 8 - A pair of anamorphic prisms can enlarge or reduce
the beam size along one axis while keeping the beam size in
the perpendicular direction unchanged.

(y or x) unchanged as shown in Fig. 8. Thereby both the

visual shape and the intensity contours of the resulting beam
can be made circular. The enlargement or reduction can be
adjusted by rotating the prisms. Because of the truncation of

Eqs. (3) and (4) show that the beam output from the fiber

the collimating lens aperture, a circular aperture slightly

will have a constant divergent angle in every radial direction.

smaller than the beam output from the prisms is used to

Tracing any beam output from the fiber backwards will reach

finally circularize the beam as shown in Fig. 8. Although the

the same imaginary beam source. Therefore the beam output

prisms can change the beam size, they do not change the

from a single mode fiber has a circular cross section, no

beam divergence. When the input beam is astigmatic, the

astigmatism and a good Gaussian intensity profile.

output beam is also astigmatic. The reflectivity of each of the

four prism surfaces can be reduced to ~1% by antireflection

But there are practical difficulties. For single mode fiber with

coating. However, the real reflectivity of these surfaces is

a cut off wavelength of 630 nm, the fiber core diameter is

much higher because of the varying incident angle of the

about 4 m and the fiber acceptance numerical aperture is

beam, unless they are AR coated for actual angles of

about 0.11 or, equivalently, about 12o of full acceptance

incidence. In practice the total power loss caused by such an

angle. The ideal input beam focused onto the fiber should

optical system is about 50%. The four prism surfaces can

thus have a convergent angle smaller than 12o and a spot size

also cause wavefront distortion and scattering and should be

smaller than 4 m. However, laser diode beams cannot meet

manufactured to a surface flatness of better than /4. The

these specifications. The ratio of the two focal lengths of the

optical assembly is usually neither compact nor inexpensive.

input coupling lenses is usually chosen to be f2/f1 3.

Theoretically, the focused elliptical spot of a laser diode

Beam Circularization with a Single Mode Fiber

beam has a major diameter of (f2/f1)dx0 12 m and a minor

A length of single mode fiber can be used to both circularize

diameter of (f2/f1)dy0 3 m. The real spot size can be few

an elliptical beam and correct the beam astigmatism. As

times larger due to the lens diffraction and aberration.

shown in Fig. 9, a laser diode beam is coupled into a piece of

Coupling lenses

single mode optical fiber with two aspheric lenses. Optical

f1

fiber theory indicates that a piece of single mode fiber much

f2
Single mode fiber

longer than the laser wavelength can sufficiently mix the

beam that the output beam from the fiber has lost the
transverse spatial characteristics the beam had on entering

Collimating
lens

Laser diode

the fiber, but the beam coherence is retained. The spatial

Output beam

characteristics of the beam output from the fiber are

determined by the shape of the output end of the fiber.
The core of single mode fiber has a circular cross section and
-5-

Figure 9 - Single-mode optical fiber can circularize and correct

astigmatism of a laser diode beam.

The focused beam has in the x direction a convergence

Py

of (f1/f2)x 4o and in the y direction a convergence of

Side view
y

(f1/f2)y 18 .
o

Active layer

Microlens

So much of the beam power will not be captured by the

x

Px

fiber. In addition it requires skill and experience to couple a

Top view

focused beam spot into a 4 m fiber core. The total power

Figure 10 - An appropriate micro-cylindrical lens positioned

properly can circularize an elliptical beam and correct the
beam astigmatism.

loss is typically about 70% and the whole arrangement is

usually significantly larger than a standard laser diode module.
Beam Circularization with a

drawing a precisely shaped large preform heated to an

Micro-cylindrical Lens

appropriate temperature. During the drawing process the

Recently there has been much research and development

preform shape is retained and the resulting microlens looks

work on new and potentially more useful methods of

as if it is fire polished and its optical quality is better than

circularizing laser diode beams in a cost-effective manner.

the original preform by the ratio of the preform size to the

Some techniques can also remove the beam astigmatism.

microlens size. The wavefront distortion of a diode beam

These new techniques attempt to circularize the beam

transmitted by a correctly aligned microlens is less than /10.

without significant beam power loss by re-shaping the beam

profile with a diffractive or geometric (such as cylindrical)

An aspheric collimating lens is used after the micro-

lens surface to obtain a pseudo point source or collimated

cylindrical lens to collimate or focus the beam as required.

beam as desired. In general it is difficult to manufacture a

The microlens can cause weak light scattering, so a circular

diffractive surface with the required sub-micron structure to

aperture of appropriate size may be positioned after the

obtain the necessary numerical aperture, or alternatively to

collimating lens to block the scattered light, but not truncate

figure the necessary asymmetric (hyperbolic-spherical,

the main beam. The beam is not truncated by the

planar-elliptical etc.) transmissive surfaces. But one method

collimating lens since x is smaller than the numerical

of obtaining precision asymmetric surfaces at moderate cost

aperture of the collimating lenses. Therefore the far field

has emerged, based on micro-cylindrical technology

beam profile, or the focused spot, can be free of the side

developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

lobes shown in Fig. 4 and be near diffraction limited. Since

(US patent 5,181,224). This patent demonstrates that high

the beam only passes through two lenses to be collimated

quality micro-cylindrical lenses (with only ~200 m cross-

and is not truncated, the total power loss of the optical

sectional size) can be manufactured and used to circularize

system is only about 20%, much less than with systems using

the elliptical beams of laser diodes. The microlens is

anamorphic prisms, a single mode fiber or a small aperture.

mounted inside the laser diode cap with the lens principle

The whole setup is compact, much smaller than

plane at the position (~10 m from the emitting stripe)

arrangements using anamorphic prisms or single mode fibers.

where the beam cross section is circular. The focal length of

the micro-lens is so chosen that it makes y x as shown

The small size of a microlens and the short distance between

in Fig. 10. Thereby the beam is circularized and the beam

the lens and the active layer facet of a laser diode require that

astigmatism is simultaneously corrected, as can be seen in

the micro-lens be mounted precisely at the right position

Fig. 10. The shape of the microlens is also shown in Fig. 10.

inside the diode cap. Successfully mounting a micro-lens

The two surfaces are aspheric to reduce the spherical

requires skill, experience and the right tools. Under the

aberration. Although it is probably impossible to directly

Lawrence Livermore patent Blue Sky Research has developed

polish such a microlens, the microlens can be made by

the CircuLaserTM as a diode replacement incorporating a

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microlens inside the diode cap (this results in a divergent but

circular beam) and Coherent Inc. has commercialized the
MicroBlazeTM range of modules.
Each MicroBlaze module includes a laser diode, microlens,
collimating lens, aperture and drive circuitry in one compact
package, 15 mm diameter and 32 mm long. In 1997 the
Coherent Auburn Group started the volume manufacture of
the MicroBlaze modules in a purpose-designed facility in a
new building. This facility incorporates state-of-the-art
machine vision, microlens alignment and beam size and
wavefront analysis equipment for complete manufacturing in
a strictly-controlled cleanroom, along with module burn-in
and lifetime and reliability verification test stations.
Comparison of Choices
The table below compares and contrasts the benefits and
problems associated with the different diode laser
circularization techniques. There is no perfect design to
produce one module with attributes suitable for all
applications, but there is a design solution available for almost
every problem.

Collimating
Lens Only

Beam Circularizing
Aperture

Anamorphic
Prism Pair

Single-Mode
Fiber

Module with
Micro Cylinder

Astigmatism

5-15 m

Can correct with

additional lens

Can correct with

additional lens

Corrected

Corrected

Beam Shape

Elliptical

Near field circular

far field elliptical

Circular

Circular

Circular

Low

Medium

High

High

Medium

~80%

20-40%

~50%

~30%

~80%

Size

Compact

Compact

Large

Large

Compact

Wavefront Quality

1-20%
Side lobes

Side lobes and

diffraction rings

Moderate

Very good

Good

Cost
Power Transmitted

HS/TS

Coherent Inc. 1998

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LASER DIODE MODULES

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