Beam Alignment

Often there are optics in a system that define an optical axis. For example, the center of curvature of two mirrors defines the optical axis of a cavity.  The beam from the laser can be made to propagate along this axis by using a minimum of 2 mirrors.  By adjusting the orientation of the first mirror, the position of the beam at the second mirror’s location can be set.  By adjusting the orientation of the second mirror, the angle of the beam leaving the second mirror can be set.  Together, this control of the position and angle of the output beam allows the beam to be adjusted to match an arbitrary axis.