Applications of Powell Lens

In laser processing, machine vision, and 3D sensing, transforming a laser beam into a uniform line spot is critical for system performance. The Powell Lens, with its unique beam-shaping capability, has become the ideal solution for industrial line laser generation.

1. Laser Processing & Industrial Manufacturing

（1）Laser Cutting/Welding

Application: Converts Gaussian beams into uniform line lasers for consistent processing.

Advantages:Intensity uniformity >90%, avoiding uneven cutting edges.

Supports high power (up to 500W with ZnSe material).

（2）Laser Marking

Application: Generates high-precision line spots for serial number marking.

Case Study: Battery tab marking with ±0.05mm line width control.

2. Optical Measurement & Sensing

（1）3D Structured Light Scanning

Application: Face recognition, industrial part 3D modeling.

Advantage: Sharper line edges (edge steepness <5%) compared to cylindrical lenses.

（2）LiDAR

Application: Homogenizes LiDAR scan lines for better SNR.

Custom Option: 905nm/1550nm wavelength designs.

3. Biomedicine & Research

（1）Flow Cytometry

Application: Excites fluorescent labels with linear spots to reduce cell-counting errors.

Specs: UV-grade (355nm) fused silica lens, >99% transmittance.

（2）Confocal Microscopy

Application: Line-scan imaging, 10x faster than point scanning.

4. Consumer Electronics & Display

（1）AR/VR Optical Modules

Application: Line spot generation for laser beam scanning (LBS) projection.

Trend: Ultra-thin Powell Lenses (<1mm) for folded optics.

（2）Laser TV

Application: Speckle reduction for uniform DMD chip illumination.

5. Future Trends

Freeform Powell Lenses: For non-linear scans (e.g., curved lines).

MEMS Integration: Dynamic line length adjustment (patented).

Conclusion

From micron-scale cell analysis to kilometer-range LiDAR, the Powell Lens enables “high uniformity, low distortion” beam shaping, making it the “beam magician” of modern optoelectronics.