Coherent Polarization Beam Combination

A new, scalable coherent beam combination architecture has been developed and experimentally verified. Coherent Polarization Beam Combination (CPBC) relies on the combination of multiple beams through a coherent superposition of orthogonal polarization states. By actively controlling the phases and polarizations of individual beams, the creation of new polarization states at polarization beam combiners enables the coherent combination of any number of beams with arbitrary power ratios. A four-beam CPBC was experimentally demonstrated at low laser power level, with 96% combining efficiency, nearly diffraction-limited beam quality, and variable polarization of the output beam. The CPBC method will enable power scaling of master oscillator power amplifier laser systems.