Patent ID: 8248700

Claim:
A system for combining beams comprising: a first array of laser emitters configured to emit a first array of output beams along a first optical path; a first array of collimating lenses disposed along the first optical path after the first array of laser emitters, configured to collimate the first array of output beams; a first lens disposed along the first optical path after the first array of collimating lenses, configured to focus the first array of output beams at a first focal plane; a first phase screen disposed along the first optical path after the first lens, configured to combine the first array of output beams at the first focal plane to generate one or more first coherently combined beams, each of the one or more first coherently combined beams corresponding to a phase combination of the first array of output beams; a spatial filter disposed along the first optical path after the first phase screen, configured to filter through one of the one or more first coherently combined beams corresponding to a desired phase combination of the first array of output beams; and an output coupling mirror disposed along the first optical path after the spatial filter, configured to produce at least a portion of the filtered first coherently combined beam and reflect at least a portion of the filtered first coherently combined beam along a second optical path opposite in direction to the first optical path.