Application-adapted beam shaping with cutting-edge optical elements in laser materials processing

The quality, efficiency and robustness of laser materials processing significantly benefits from an application-adapted beam shaping. For a successful realization of tailored beam shapes that utilizes state-of-the-art optic concepts, research in two different steps is necessary. First, information about the required beam shape (especially in terms of intensity distribution) is needed. During the last years, we have developed and validated a method to solve the so-called inverse heat conduction problem which enables the derivation of an intensity distribution that specifically tailors the induced temperature profile within the processed material. Here, we present the latest enhancement of the algorithm to complex time-dependent scenarios and new applications, e.g. from the field of surface treatment and tape placement. With the knowledge of the target beam shape, in a second step, optical systems must be designed that enable the realization of the achieved, highly complex intensity distributions. We further demonstrate the potential and limits of novel optics such as freeform mirrors, LCoS-SLMs or diffractive neural networks as well as VCSELs for application-adapted beam shaping. We especially present specific design methods that can contribute to a robust, flexible, and practical realization in various applications.