Abstract
In laser processing, laser beam is converted to have an adequate energy distribution for a processing purpose. This paper describes in both calculation and experiment what energy distributions have been obtained by kaleidoscopes of rectangular pipes. Calculated without respect to interference, the ratio of longer side to length of kaleidoscopes which convert a single-mode laser beam into that of even energy distribution had a certain tendency. The calculation with respect to interference indicated that the influence of interference on energy distribution becomes intense as kaleidoscope length increases. The influence of interference on energy distribution depends on kaleidoscope length. The same kind of calculation was done for multi-mode laser beam. It had the same tendency as that for the single-mode. In experiment, acrylic burn patterns have been made by square and rectangular kaleidoscopes to verify the conversion of single-mode beam into an even energy distribution. The experimental result has been in accordance with the calculation with regard to interference.
