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What is Beam Divergence?
Beam Divergence describes the rate at which a laser beam expands as it propagates away from its source. It is typically expressed as an angle, usually in milliradians (mrad), and is an important parameter for evaluating how well a beam can maintain its size and intensity over distance.
A low-divergence beam remains narrow over longer distances, which is particularly important for applications requiring precise beam delivery, long-range propagation, or tight focusing.
HOW Beam Divergence Works
Beam divergence results from the natural spreading of a laser beam as it propagates through space. The amount of divergence depends on the beam's wavelength, initial size, and spatial quality.
Beam propagation
As the beam travels away from its source, its cross-sectional area generally increases.
Angular spreading
The rate at which the beam expands is characterized by its divergence angle. A smaller divergence means the beam spreads more slowly.
Beam quality influence
For a given beam size and wavelength, better beam quality generally results in lower divergence. The M² factor is therefore closely related to beam divergence and focusing performance.
