Flat-top polygonal temperature profiles by laser beams

Abstract

A method was proposed to generate flat-top polygonal temperature distributions in substrates from a Gaussian-shaped laser source. The original Gaussian beam is equally and diametrically separated into several portions and is then rearranged so that the each portion has its peak intensity allocated toward outside. This can be realized by a symmetrical multi-facet prism. A mathematical model was derived to calculate the temperature rise induced the rearranged portions of the laser beam. Flat-top polygonal temperature profiles with two, three, four and six corners have been investigated by numerical calculations. It is shown that flat-top polygonal temperature distributions can be obtained by this method if the distance between the peaks of the beam portions is arranged to be certain proportions to the original Gaussian beam. It is also found the shape of the temperature profile is almost with the same size as the original Gaussian beam size and does not depend on the incident laser power and the substrate material.