Encircled energy in systems with truncated-Gaussian apertures of different Fresnel numbers. I. Generalization of the Q2n function of E. Wolf and the Yn function of H. H. Hopkins

In his works on diffraction [Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A204, 533 (1951)], E. Wolf introduced the Q2n function, which enters his expressions for the encircled energy. This quantity specifies the fraction of the total energy within various rings in receiving planes parallel to the geometrical focal plane. In addition to the Q2n function, another special function, called the Yn function, was used in his formulation, which had been introduced by H. H. Hopkins [Proc. Phys. Soc. London Sect. B62, 22 (1949)]. The purpose of this study is to generalize both the Q2n and Yn functions for evaluating the encircled energy in systems of focused truncated Gaussian beams by apertures of different Fresnel numbers and different levels of beam truncation. The generalized Q and Y functions are functions of more than one variable and are applicable to all nonnegative integers m; they may therefore be called the Qm and the Ym functions. Computed results are shown graphically in the form of contour lines of the encircled energy. Part II of this study [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A24, 2033 (2007)] contains an analysis of maximizing beam energy concentration on a target.     

Levelling the focal spot intensity of the focused gaussian beam

Abstract

It is experimentally and numerically shown that a simple binaryphase optical element can be used for levelling the light energy in the focal plane of the focused Gaussian beam, generating a square-shaped focal beam, and transforming the Gaussian beam into a uniform beam which preserves its radius at a definite length of its path.     

Subwavelength-resolvable focused non-gaussian beam shaped with a binary diffractive optical element.

The diffraction-limited spot size limits the optical disk storage capacity and microscopic resolution. We describe a technique to shape a focused Gaussian beam into a superresolving beam by using a diffractive optical element fabricated by laser-assisted chemical etching. The focused shaped beam has a smaller width and a longer depth of focus than a similarly focused Gaussian beam. Using the diffraction-limited shaped beam along with threshold writing, we achieved a written pit size of less than 0.33 mum at a 695-nm laser wavelength, compared with a 0.7-mum focused Gaussian spot size (full width at e(-2) of the peak) with the same focusing lens. The energy conversion efficiency for the beam shaping was ~81%.     

Ultrasonic nondiffracting transducer for medical imaging

The nondiffracting J(0) Bessel beam is evaluated, and its application to medical imaging is suggested. Computer simulations and experimental results for a ten-ring annular Bessel shaded transducer are described. Both continuous-wave (CW) and pulse-wave (PW) excitations are shown and compared to conventional Gaussian beams. The nondiffracting beam has about 1.27-nm radius main lobe with a 20-cm depth of field compared to the Gaussian transducer of the same size with a 1.27-mm radius main lobe at a focus of 12 cm and 2x4-cm depth of field. The side lobes of the nondiffracting beam are the same as the J(0) Bessel function. The effects of heterogeneity due to tissue on the nondiffracting beam and on the focused Gaussian beam are also reported.     

Dependence of transverse and longitudinal resolutions on incident Gaussian beam widths in the illumination part of optical scanning microscopy

We studied both theoretically and experimentally the intensity distribution of a Gaussian laser beam when it was focused by an objective lens with its numerical aperture up to 0.95. Approximate formulas for full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the intensity distribution at focus were derived for very large and very small initial beam waists with respect to the entrance pupil radius of the objective lens. In experiments, the energy flux through a 0.5 microm pinhole was measured for various pinhole positions. It was found in theoretical analysis and confirmed in experiments that the FWHMs at focus in the transverse and longitudinal directions do not increase much from the ultimate FWHMs until the input beam waist is reduced below half of the entrance pupil radius.     

Effective radius of curvature of partially coherent Hermite–Gaussian beams propagating through non-Kolmogorov turbulence

Based on the extended Huygens–Fresnel principle and non-Kolmogorov spectrum, the analytical expression for the effective radius of curvature of partially coherent Hermite–Gaussian (PCHG) beams propagating through non-Kolmogorov turbulence is derived, and the relative effective radius of curvature is used to describe the effect of turbulence on the effective radius of curvature. It is shown that the effective radius of curvature of PCHG beams depends on the beam and non-Kolmogorov turbulence parameters and on the propagation distance. The variation of relative effective radius of curvature with increasing generalized exponent parameter α of non-Kolmogorov turbulence is non-monotonic. The longer the propagation distance is, the larger the effect of turbulence on the effective radius of curvature of PCHG beams is. The effective radius of curvature of PCHG beams with shorter wavelength, smaller beam order, larger beam waist width or better spatial coherence is more affected by the non-Kolmogorov turbulence. The results are interpreted physically.     

Focal Shift Formula for Focused,Apertured Gaussian Beams

A formula is developed for fast computing focal shift in the diffraction field of a Gaussian beam that is focused by a thin lens filled in a circular aperture of any prescribed radius. This formula is a generalization of two previously known focal shift formulae, one for un-apertured Gaussian beam, another for plane-wave beam.     

Generation of phase singularity through diffracting a plane or Gaussian beam by a spiral phase plate

We deduce and study an analytical expression for Fresnel diffraction of a plane wave by a spiral phase plate (SPP) that imparts an arbitrary-order phase singularity on the light field. Estimates for the optical vortex radius that depends on the singularity's integer order n (also termed topological charge, or order of the dislocation) have been derived. The near-zero vortex intensity is shown to be proportional to rho2n, where p is the radial coordinate. Also, an analytical expression for Fresnel diffraction of the Gaussian beam by a SPP with nth-order singularity is analyzed. The far-field intensity distribution is derived. The radius of maximal intensity is shown to depend on the singularity number. The behavior of the Gaussian beam intensity after a SPP with second-order singularity (n = 2) is studied in more detail. The parameters of the light beams generated numerically with the Fresnel transform and via analytical formulas are in good agreement. In addition, the light fields with first- and second-order singularities were generated by a 32-level SPP fabricated on the resist by use of the electron-beam lithography technique.     

The Intensity Distribution of a Gaussian Schell-model Beam Focused by an Aperture Lens

Abstract

Starting from the generalized Huygens-Fresnel diffraction integral, we study the intensity distribution of a Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beam diffracted at an aperture lens. A great number of numerical calculations have been performed to illustrate the focused field characteristics. Isophote diagrams are given for systems of different Fresnel numbers, which focus GSM beams, and the related analysis is presented.     

Rays and fields in general astigmatic resonators

General astigmatic (GA) resonators are discussed in detail. Eigenrays, eigenmodes and eigenvalues (Gouy-factors) of this resonator are evaluated. A stability diagram for such resonators is introduced, which clearly depicts the stable and unstable regions for rays as well as for fields. Eigenrays and their stability regions are evaluated using the ABCD-law. For the beam propagation Collins' integral and the second moment method are applied. The eigenfunctions for rectangular symmetry are the generalized Hermite polynomials multiplied by the Gaussian exponential factor. It is shown that for general astigmatic resonators these polynomials are the product of normal Hermite polynomials. The generating function of the eigenfunctions depends on the special resonator. It is a useful tool for all calculations and it is determined. Furthermore it is shown that the second moment characterization of the modes is a useful and easy to handle procedure to evaluate beam width, beam divergence, radius of curvature and twist of the generalized Gauss–Hermite functions.     

Determination of the longitudinal profile of a focused Nd:YAG Gaussian beam from second-harmonic generation in a thin KTP crystal

We present an original experiment describing a focused Gaussian laser beam by using second-harmonic generation (SHG) in a thin strip of a nonlinear optical material, in this case KTP doubling of an Nd:YAG laser at 1.064 μm. The dependence of the SHG efficiency on the fundamental beam radius allows the determination of beam parameters by harmonic-power measurements. The characterization of a telescope shows the good precision of this method in radii in the range of 10-100 μm. The average accuracy is 4% for the radius determination and 1.5% for the beam-waist localization.     

Approximate method for the generalized M2 factor of rotationally symmetric hard-edged diffracted flattened Gaussian beams

On the basis of the truncated second-order moments method in the cylindrical coordinate systems and the expansion of the hard-edged aperture function into a finite sum of complex Gaussian functions, an approximate method used to calculate the generalized beam propagation factor (M2 factor) is proposed. The approximate analytical expressions of the generalized M2 factor for rotationally symmetric hard-edged diffracted flattened Gaussian beams defined by Gori [Opt. Commun. 107, 335 (1994)] and Li [Opt. Lett. 27, 1007 (2002)] are derived, respectively; we show that it depends on the beam order N and the beam truncation parameter delta. Some typical numerical examples are given to illustrate its applications that we compare by using the obtained analytical method and the numerical integration method.     

Aperture averaging effects on the probability density of irradiance fluctuations in moderate-to-strong turbulence

The lognormal (LN) and gamma-gamma (GG) distributions are compared to simulated and experimental data of the irradiance fluctuations of a Gaussian beam wave propagating through the atmosphere along a horizontal path, near the ground, in the moderate-to-strong turbulence regime. Irradiance data were collected simultaneously at three receiving apertures of different sizes. Atmospheric parameters were inferred from the measurements and scintillation theory and were used to develop the parameters for the theoretical probability density functions. Numerical simulations were produced with the same C(n)(2) value as the experimental data. Aperture-averaging effects were investigated by comparing the irradiance distributions for the three apertures at two different values of the structure parameter C(n)(2), and, hence, different values of the coherence radius rho(0). For the moderate-to-strong fluctuation regime, the GG distribution provides a good fit to the irradiance fluctuations collected by finite-sized apertures that are significantly smaller than rho(0). For apertures larger than or equal to rho(0), the irradiance fluctuations appear to be LN distributed.     

Diffraction of Gaussian beams by periodic and aperiodic rulings

The diffraction of Gaussian beams by periodic and aperiodic rulings is considered. The theory of diffraction is based on the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld integral equation with Dirichlet conditions. The transmitted power and the normally diffracted energy are analyzed as a function of the beam radius. Two methods to determine the Gaussian beam radius by means of periodic and aperiodic lamellar gratings are proposed. One is based on the maximum and the minimum transmitted power, and the other one considers the normally diffracted energy. Small and large Gaussian beam radii can be treated with these two methods.     

Calculation of the radiation trapping force for laser tweezers by use of generalized Lorenz-Mie theory. II. On-axis trapping force

The efficiency of trapping an on-axis spherical particle by use of laser tweezers for a particle size from the Rayleigh limit to the ray optics limit is calculated from generalized Lorenz-Mie light-scattering theory and the localized version of a Gaussian beam that has been truncated and focused by a high-numerical-aperture lens and that possesses spherical aberration as a result of its transmission through the wall of the sample cell. The results are compared with both the experimental trapping efficiency and the theoretical efficiency obtained from use of the localized version of a freely propagating focused Gaussian beam. The predicted trapping efficiency is found to decrease as a function of the depth of the spherical particle in the sample cell owing to an increasing amount of spherical aberration. The decrease in efficiency is also compared with experiment.     

Propagation of hollow Gaussian beams through apertured paraxial optical systems

On the basis of the generalized Collins formula and the expansion of the hard-aperture function into a finite sum of complex Gaussian functions, an approximate analytical formula for a hollow Gaussian beam propagating through an apertured paraxial stigmatic (ST) ABCD optical system is derived. Some numerical examples are given. Furthermore, by using a tensor method, we derive approximate analytical formulas for a hollow elliptical Gaussian beam propagating through an apertured paraxial general astigmatic ABCD optical system and an apertured paraxial misaligned ST ABCD optical system. Our results provide a convenient way for studying the propagation and transformation of a hollow Gaussian beam and a hollow elliptical Gaussian beam through an apertured general optical system.     

An analytical model and tomographic calculation of vacuum electron beam welding heat source

According to the analysis to the characteristics of welding heat source and thermal effect, a mathematic model of rotary Gaussian body heat source with incremental power-density-distribution was developed, which was in line with the characteristics of heat source during vacuum electron beam welding. The affecting radius of source model decreases progressively with the law of Gaussian function and the power density varies gradually with the law of exponential function in depth direction. The evaluation of peak-power-density coefficient β and the tomographic calculation of the source model in different focused conditions were discussed. The results showed that the focused conditions, which were the deviation of depth of field in electron beam, were dependent on the coefficient β in the source model. Simulation of thermal effect and the analysis of weld formation in vacuum electron beam welding validated the feasibility of the model.     

Calculation of the radiation trapping force for laser tweezers by use of generalized Lorenz-Mie theory. I. Localized model description of an on-axis tightly focused laser beam with spherical aberration

Calculation of the radiation trapping force in laser tweezers by use of generalized Lorenz-Mie theory requires knowledge of the shape coefficients of the incident laser beam. The localized version of these coefficients has been developed and justified only for a moderately focused Gaussian beam polarized in the x direction and traveling in the positive z direction. Here the localized model is extended to a beam tightly focused and truncated by a high-numerical-aperture lens, aberrated by its transmission through the wall of the sample cell, and incident upon a spherical particle whose center is on the beam axis. We also consider polarization of the beam in the y direction and propagation in the negative z direction to be able to describe circularly polarized beams and reflected beams.