A laser with a high quality, single mode Gaussian output beam is often required in laser additive manufacturing (powder-bed based) as it creates the smallest spot possible, allowing very fine features to be made. However, the Gaussian profile is not the ideal profile for the process of laser sintering the fine powder of the additive manufacturing (AM) machine.

The optimum AM process is likely to require a near uniform heat input to the powder-bed. This requires a complex intensity profile – but one which the Deposited Energy Flat Top: DEFT – is able to produce.

The DEFT beam shaper has the potential to increase the AM throughput and optimise energy efficiency: the laser profile is a closer match to the fundamentals of the AM process.