Bessel Lens for Laser Cutting & Deep Hole Drilling Application Note
Introduction
A bessel lens consists of axicon lenses and two sets of focusing lenses. The collimated light passes through the axicon lens to form the bessel beam, which is non-diffractive and has concentric rings each having the same power as one another. The ring diameter changes with the change in focal depth, but the ring thickness remains the same. This type of ring-focused beam is much more suitable for material processing applications with a diameter-to-long depth ratio.
Figure 1 shows the basic optical design principle of the bessel lens. The whole lens is composed of a set of axicon lenses and two groups of focusing lenses.
Working Principle
The generation of a bessel beam through an axicon lens produces a transverse light energy distribution with no diffraction characteristics. At the location of beam convergence, a longer diffraction-free region is produced (Figure 2), where the beam energy density does not change with the propagation distance. Combining the axicon lens with a focusing lens (Figure 3), a high-energy Bessel beam can be achieved (Figure 4).
The beauty of the bessel beam optical system lies in the tunability of the output beam depth of focus (DOF) by simply adjusting the size of the input beam diameter. With an approximal linear relation between the input beam diameter and the output beam DOF (Figure 5), our Bessel lens is the solution to your needs.
Figure 2. Bessel Beam Regional Distribution
(b) Beam Profile Analysis (FWHM) of Output Beam
(b) Plot of Output Beam Size (FWHM) vs. Input Beam Diameter
Field of Application
Bessel lenses are suited for laser cutting and deep hole drilling for modern industrial applications, with a requirement for versatility, high efficiency, and precision material processing. These lenses are a unique solution to a specialized field of laser process technology that requires small focusing spot size and long focus depth. Integrating with a laser cutting system, it generates high localization and stringent directional control of the focused beam, providing flexibility in cutting steel, glass, and other materials. An in-build compensation mechanism allows for adjustment by customers to meet their desired optical performance.