XS Beam shaper

Achieving Smaller Shaped Spots with Tighter System Constraints

The Challenge

To get good shaping in F-Theta lens laser scanning systems, the recommended ratio between input beam diameter and clear aperture (CA) is typically 1:2.5. For example, a 4 mm beam diameter (at 1/e²) requires a 10 mm clear aperture.

This constraint significantly limits laser machine integrator ability to create small-sized shaped beams compared to working with Gaussian beams alone. Our Small TH binary beam shaper improved this to a 2.0× CA-to-beam ratio, but for many applications this still produces too large a flat-top spot.

The XS top hat solution

HOLO/OR’s XS beam shaper line breaks through this barrier with an innovative design allowing  1.45× CA to input beam ratio — enabling:

• 13% smaller flat top spot size compared to our Small TH beam shapers
• Better Shaping compared to Small TH beam shaper, flat to edge ratio is close to 2:1
• Top hat shape maintained over large scanning field
• Fully transmissive design — zero reflection or absorption losse
• Standard shapes available: Square, Round, and Line flat top shapes

Typical case demo:

System Specifications:

• F-Theta Lens: 100 mm EFL
• Clear Aperture: 10 mm
• Wavelength: 1064 nm

Result: The XS TH enables 46% smaller spots than Standard ST solutions — critical for precision applications.

Efficiency Specifications for XS TH

Typical laser Applications

• High-precision micro-machining requiring minimal spot sizes
• Compact laser scanning systems with limited aperture
• Medical device manufacturing with tight dimensional tolerances
• Applications where spot size is more critical than side lobe performance