An apparatus for combining laser beams into a single high power output
beam. The apparatus includes a self-imaging waveguide (SIWG) with
parallel reflective elements that have a length that is an integer
multiple of the self-imaging or Talbot length of the waveguide or an
integer fraction of this self-imaging length. The apparatus also includes
a system for controlling the phase of each of laser beams provided to an
inlet of the waveguide. The phases are controlled, e.g., with phase
shifters using active feedback or control signals from the inlet to the
waveguide, such that a coherently combined beam is produced at the outlet
of the waveguide; and this beam is typically a high power beam of 1 kW or
higher. The phase shifters are often controlled to phase-lock the input
beams and may be operated to steer or aim the output beam from the
waveguide.