1.  Home
  2. Whitepapers
  3. Beam Expanders

Beam Expanders

Download Whitepaper

Beam Expanders

Download Whitepaper
Beam expansion or reduction is a common requirement in many applications using lasers or other light sources. While beam expansion is discussed here, the optical system can simply be reversed to serve as a beam reducer. Simple beam expanders are essentially telescopes which, in their most basic forms, consist of two lenses. The input beam is assumed to be collimated. The first lens must have a diameter larger than the diameter of the input beam to avoid clipping the beam. Similarly, the diameter of the output lens should be larger than the expected output beam diameter. The size of the output beam is the product of the magnification of the system (or expansion ratio) and the input beam diameter. The magnification of a two lens system is equal to the ratio of the focal length of the second lens to that of the first lens.

Download Whitepaper Now