title: Beam propagation constants for a radial laser array.
abstract: The beam quality of a radial laser array, quantified in terms of the M(2) propagation constant, is determined as a function of array element configuration. A lower bound on array M(2) is estimated for both phase-locked and nonphase-locked conditions. It is shown that, to achieve near-unity M(2) array, either aperture filling or spatial filtering is required in addition to phase locking. An aperture-filling method suitable for radial arrays of CO(2) slab lasers is presented.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Strohschein
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Seguin
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Capjack