Thin laser package for optical applications

An optical projection system configured to emit light along an optical axis toward an optical element at a configured location, the optical element having a back focal length and being aligned with the optical axis, the optical projection system comprising:

• a laser emitter configured to emit a beam of light along an emission axis, the beam having a divergence;
• the emission axis being non-parallel to the optical axis;
• and
• a folding optic configured to redirect the beam emitted by the laser emitter toward the optical axis,
• the optical projection system being configured to transmit the beam along a folded optical path having:
• a first section extending along the emission axis from the laser emitter to the folding optic;
• and
• a second section extending along the optical axis from the folding optic to the configured location of the optical element,
• the sum of the lengths of the first and second sections being equal to the back focal length,
• the length of the first section being a function of the divergence of the beam and the back focal length of the optical element, the function being designed to reduce the height of the folding optic, and
• the folding optic having a height along the optical axis configured to redirect substantially the entire beam emitted by the laser emitter.