Anamorphic Prisms

Anamorphic prisms are used to change the dimension of a beam in one axis, the effect being analogous to that of a cylindrical lens.

These two prisms can expand or contract the beam in one direction without any changes in the other direction. By adjusting the angles among the incident beam and two prisms, the shape of the beam can be changed. It is very easy to turn elliptical bean into circular beam. If beam shaping is required, a system using a pair of anamorphic prisms has several significant benefits.