Laser processing puts increasing demands on beam quality for the process to be cost-competitive. Merely profiling the beam and comparing the profile to a Gaussian fit is no longer adequate, because it does not guarantee a diffraction-limited beam. A 'Gaussian fit' calculation can deceive the user into assuming propagation properties that will not exist in practice. Thus, the Gaussian fit method can lull the user into a false sense of security of laser performance.

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