Anamorphic prism

An anamorphic prism pair consists of two right angle prisms used to reshape a laser beam.1 They are most often used to transform elliptical beams into circular profiles, but they can also produce other elliptical beam profiles in a range of sizes.Anamorphic Prism Pairs are used to transform elliptical laser diode beams into nearly circular beams by magnifying the elliptical beam in one dimension. They can also be used to convert a circular beam into an elliptical beam.

By using anamorphic prism pairs, the beam can be expanded in only one direction, thus making the beam cross-section circular. This is crucial in many applications as circular beams produce smaller spot sizes when focused, thereby increasing the irradiance (radiation energy per unit area) at the focal point.For instance, they are more suitable for applications requiring low wavefront distortion and are more user-friendly in terms of installation and alignment. Additionally, anamorphic prism pairs do not introduce astigmatism, which is essential for maintaining beam quality.