Analytical Study on the Steady-State Thermal Blooming of Incoherent Combining Beam

Abstract

The incoherent combined beam of lasers has many important applications due to its simple technology and excellent expansibility. Thermal blooming is one factor that will seriously affect the propagation of the combined beam in the atmosphere. Based on the analytical expression of thermal blooming for a Gaussian beam, the thermal blooming of the incoherent combined beam with a basic arrangement was studied and analyzed. From the evolution of thermal blooming for the incoherent combined beam with a basic arrangement, the thermal blooming for the incoherent combined beam with a complex arrangement can be predicted. As an example, incoherent beams with seven channels were studied. Results show that the thermal lens effect will split the beam located at the central path of heat into two parts.