Widening of using high power multimode lasers in industrial laser material processing is accompanied by special requirements to irradiance profiles in such technologies like metal or plastics welding, cladding, hardening, brazing, annealing, laser pumping and amplification in MOPA lasers. Typical irradiance distribution of high power multimode lasers: free space solid state, fiber-coupled solid state and diodes lasers, fiber lasers, is similar to Gaussian. Laser technologies can be essentially improved when irradiance distribution on a workpiece is uniform (flattop) or inverse-Gauss; when building high-power pulsed lasers it is possible to enhance efficiency of pumping and amplification by applying super-Gauss irradiance distribution with controlled convexity. Therefore, "freeform" beam shaping of multimode laser beams is an important task. A proved solution is refractive field mapping beam shaper like Pi Shaper capable to control resulting irradiance profile - with the same unit it is possible to get various beam profiles and choose optimum one for a particular application. Operational principle of these devices implies transformation of laser irradiance distribution by conserving beam consistency, high transmittance, providing collimated low divergent output beam. Using additional optics makes it possible to create resulting laser spots of necessary size and round, elliptical or linear shape. Operation out of focal plane and, hence, in field of lower wavefront curvature, allows extending depth of field. The refractive beam shapers are implemented as telescopes and collimating systems, which can be connected directly to fiber-coupled lasers or fiber lasers, thus combining functions of beam collimation and irradiance transformation.
