Adjustable redistribution of the laser intensity between two adjoining metal surfaces.

Welding of pipes and manufacturing of plated metal sheets are two applications of a laser beam in which the distribution of the absorbed intensity differs considerably from the irradiation. Laser beam propagation between two adjoining metal surfaces is investigated experimentally and the results are compared with theoretical calculations. The radiation transfer equation is solved for the redistributed laser intensity at the adjoining metal surfaces. The influence of beam radius, polarization state and transversal disadjustment are discussed.