In this paper, the effects of varying the spot size of a high-power laser on the generation of acoustic waves are explored. The study simulated the interaction of the laser with a stainless-steel sample away from the ablation region. The simulations provided a set of data for the selection of a laser spot size that is needed for detecting pores in additive manufacturing samples. The simulations show that as the spot size of the laser decreased, the frequency would increase at a rate that is approximately the inverse of the spot size. Due to the desire to detect smaller flaws and from the knowledge that the spot size has a large variation near the focal point, it would be beneficial to understand the effects that occur due to the variation of the spot size, particularly in regards to the frequency content provided by a single pulse
