Focal field computation of an arbitrarily polarized beam using fast Fourier transforms

In this work the vectorial diffraction theory of Richards and Wolf is extended to compute the focal field components of an arbitrarily polarized beam using fast Fourier transform (FFT) operations. Here the arbitrarily polarized pupil function is written as the vector sum of two mutually perpendicularly polarized pupil functions. The FFT based focal field expressions are particularly useful to compute the focal field components of pupil functions without a simple analytical form. We have then applied these expressions to simulate the effects of Zernike mode aberrations on the point spread functions of a number of important cylindrical-vector beam profiles such as radially and azimuthally polarized and helical light beams.     

Propagation of a hollow Gaussian beam through a paraxial misaligned optical system

Based on the generalized diffraction integral formula for treating the propagation of a laser beam through a paraxial misaligned optical system in the cylindrical coordinate system, we obtain an analytical formula for a hollow Gaussian beam passing through a paraxial misaligned optical system. Furthermore, we also obtain the approximate analytical formula for a hollow Gaussian beam passing through a paraxial circularly apertured misaligned optical system by expanding the hard aperture function into a finite sum of complex Gaussian functions. As a numerical example, the propagation properties a hollow Gaussian beam through a misaligned thin lens are studied numerically.     

On the Scaled Fractional Fourier Transformation Operator

Based on our previous study [Chin. Phys. Lett. 24 （2007） 2238] in which the Fresnel operator corresponding to classical Fresnel transform was introduced, we derive the fractional Fourier transformation operator, and the optical operator method is then enriched.     

Generation of bottle beam by focusing a super-Gaussian beam using a lens and an axicon

This study explores the characteristics of the bottle beams that are formed by super-Gaussian beams that impinge through an axicon and a positive lens. Analytical solutions for the on-axial intensity of Gaussian and apertured-plane beams were obtained. The barrier around the dark region has a larger variation of intensity for higher-order super-Gaussian profiles. Flattening the tops of the profiles increases the bottle lengths for a fixed second-order moment width or distance between the axicon and the lens.     

Height distribution on a rough plane and specularly diffracted light amplitude are Fourier transform pair

In this report we show that the amplitude of specularly diffracted light from a plane rough surface as a function of incident angle cosine is Fourier transform of the height distribution on the surface. Therefore, an even height distribution function, which is the case for many rough surfaces, can be obtained by measuring the specularly diffracted light intensities. Also, it is observed that for polychromatic illumination the spectrum of the specularly diffracted light is modified and the modification depends on roughness, incident angle, and wavelength. It is also shown that, for a fixed incident angle, the height distribution on the rough plane is Fourier transform of the spectral modifying function. Experimental studies on some surfaces of different roughnesses, prepared by grinding sheet-glasses by powders of different grain sizes, show that the corresponding height distributions are Gaussian and the rms heights obtained by the two approaches are quite consistent.     

Propagation characteristics of laser beams with amplitude modulations and phase fluctuations in apertured fractional Fourier transforming system

The apertured fractional Fourier transforming system is introduced and applied to treat the propagation of Gaussian beams with amplitude modulations and phase fluctuations. Based on the treatment that a rectangular function can be expanded into an approximate sum of complex Gaussian functions with finite numbers, the analytical expressions for the mutual intensity distribution of laser beams with amplitude modulations and phase fluctuations passing through the apertured fractional Fourier transforming system are obtained. Some numerical simulations are illustrated for their propagation properties.     

Modified hollow Gaussian beam and its paraxial propagation

A model named modified hollow Gaussian beam (HGB) is proposed to describe a dark hollow beam with adjustable beam spot size, central dark size and darkness factor. In this modified model, both the beam spot size and the central dark size will be convergent to finite constants as the beam order approaches infinity, which are much different from that of the previous unmodified model, where the beam spot size and the central dark size will not be convergent as the beam order approaches infinity. The dependences of the propagation factor of modified and unmodified HGBs on the beam order are found to be the same. Based on the Collins integral, analytical formulas for the modified HGB propagating through aligned and misaligned optical system are derived. Some numerical examples are given.     

Debye Series of Scattering by a Multi-Layered Cylinder in an Off-Axis 2D Gaussian Beam

The Debye series of light scattering by an infinite multi-layered cylinder in an off-axis 21） Gaussian beam is studied. A simplified but rigorous iterative formula for scattering coefficients is presented. The numerical calculations of scattering intensity by a cylinder in on-axis and off-axis beams are developed. It is indicated that the results of Debye series reach an agreement with those of generalized Lorenz-Mie theory and the off-axis distances vary the results to a great extent. The Debye series components of a two-layered cylinder are further discussed. The relations between them with rainbow phenomena are analysed.     

Effects of the frequency chirp on the fields of a chirped Gaussian pulse passing through a hard-edged aperture

Based on the Huygens-Fresnel diffraction integral and Fourier transform, propagation expression of a chirped Gaussian pulse passing through a hard-edged aperture is derived. Intensity distributions of the pulse with different frequency chirp in the near-field and far-field are analyzed in detail by numerical calculations. In the near-field, amplitudes of the intensity peaks generated by the modulation of the hard-edged aperture decrease with increasing the frequency chirp, which results in the improving of the beam uniformity. A physical explanation for the smoothing effect brought by increasing the frequency chirp is given. The smoothing effect is achieved not only in the pulse with Gaussian transverse profile but also in the pulse with Hermite-Gaussian transverse profile when the frequency chirp increases.     

Analytical structure of an apertured vector Gaussian beam in the far field

Based on the angular spectrum representation of the Maxwell’s equations and the complex Gaussian expansion of the aperture function, the structure of an apertured vector Gaussian beam in the far field is presented in the integral form. By means of the method of stationary phase, the analytical vectorial structures are obtained. According to the analytical expressions, the characteristics of vectorial structure of an apertured Gaussian beam are investigated in the far field. The influence of a linearly polarized angle on the vectorial structure is also studied in the far field. This research provides a novel approach to further comprehend the vectorial property of an apertured Gaussian beam.     

Characterization of one-dimension edge roughness from far-field irradiance at subwavelength-scale precision

It is proposed and numerically verified that the one-dimensional edge roughness of test sample can be characterized by far-field irradiance measurement at subwavelength-scale precision with a constructed aperture playing as an optical ruler. The precision of the proposed scheme of measurement could be better than 3%, even when the edge roughness is in subwavelength-scale. The influence of sample thickness on the proposed measurement scheme is also investigated and considered.     

The symmetry properties of stable polynomial Gaussian beam profiles

We consider the symmetry properties of polynomial Gaussian beam profiles (intensity distributions) that remain stable during propagation, apart from being scaled and possibly rotated. These beams are expressed as special linear combinations of the Laguerre-Gaussian modes. Two kinds of symmetries are present: discreet rotational symmetries and mirror symmetries. The symmetry properties are shown to depend on the particular subset of Laguerre-Gaussian modes that is used to construct the stable beam. We demonstrate the symmetry properties of a few examples of stable beams through numerical simulations.     

Three Gaussian beam heterodyne interferometer for surface profiling

A novel three Gaussian beam interferometric technique for profiling optical smooth surfaces is presented. The technique is based on the heterodinization of three Gaussian beams, two of them with the same temporal frequency. The first beam is used as a probe beam after being focused and reflected from the surface under test. The second beam is reflected from a reference surface. The third beam is obtained from the first diffraction order of a Bragg cell and thus, it is shifted in its temporal frequency. The three beams are coherently added at the sensitive plane of a photodetector that integrates the overall intensity of the beams. We show analytically that the electrical signal at the output of the photodetector consists of a temporal carrier whose amplitude is a sinusoidal function of the local topography. We include the measurement of the topography of a sample consisting in a blazed-reflecting grating calibrated by means of an atomic force microscope.     

Topological charge inversion in polynomial astigmatic Gaussian beams

The evolution of the global topological charge in a general polynomial astigmatic Gaussian beam is investigated. The leading order terms of the polynomial prefactor determines the global topological charge and can be expressed as a product of first order polynomials, each representing an optical vortex function. We show that the global topological charge is bounded by the order of the polynomial and change during propagation in steps of 2 every time one of the optical vortices undergo topological charge inversion. We investigate the locations of the flip planes where charge inversions occur and provide expressions for a number of special cases. Numerical results are provided for an example of such a polynomial astigmatic Gaussian beam.     

Flat-topped spectrum obtained from partially coherent hollow Gaussian Schell-model beams passing through a slit

The anomalous spectral behaviors of partially coherent polychromatic hollow Gaussian Schell-model beams (HGSMBs) diffracted by a slit are investigated. Besides spectral switches, asymmetrical dual-peak spectral split and multi-peak spectral split are observed. In the vicinity of the positions where spectral switches occur, flat-topped spectrum can be obtained, the bandwidth of which is adjustable by changing the transverse coherence width and the observation position. The flat-topped spectrum has potential application for creating probe beams in optical metrology systems and generating broadband optical sources in fiber optic sensor interface systems.     

Ultra-narrow bandwidth resonant reflection grating filters using the second diffracted orders

In this paper, we design resonant reflection grating filters employing the second diffracted orders as the leaky modes, then analyze the bandwidth of the reflection peak and the electric field distributions inside the waveguide under resonance. The numeric calculation confirms that ultra-narrow resonant reflection peaks can be observed in these structures. At the same time, strong electric field enhancement appears under resonance. It provides a new approach to diversify the resonant reflection filters and may open a new way to the realization of ultra-narrow bandwidth filters.     

Scattering from a Multi-Layered Sphere Located in a High-Order Hermite-Gaussian Beam

Scattering of a high-order Hermite-Gaussian beam by a multi-layered sphere is analyzed. The incident high- order Hermite-Gaussian beam field is expressed by the complex-source-point method and expanded in terms of spherical vector wave functions. The beam shape coefficients of the Hermite-Gaussian beam are obtained. Under electromagnetic field boundary conditions, coefficients in the expressions of scattering fields are derived. Results of the numerical calculation of scattering intensity are presented. The effects of the particle parameters and beam parameters on scattering intensity are discussed in detail.     

A neat semi-Gaussian laser beam with no diffraction fringes: Theoretical analysis

We propose a simple optical device to convert a Gaussian laser beam into a neat semi-Gaussian laser beam without any diffraction fringe by using a spatial light modulator and a thin, sharp blade, and numerically calculate the diffracted, relative intensity distributions of both the semi-Gaussian laser field and the semi-Gaussian, pseudo-thermal light. We also study the dependence of the border width of the semi-Gaussian beam on the waist of the Gaussian beam. Our study shows that the proposed scheme can be used to cancel all diffraction fringes from both the straight edge of the blade and a finite lens aperture in all the planes vertical to the z axis and obtain a neat semi-Gaussian beam without any diffraction fringe, and find that the border width w_B of the generated semi-Gaussian beam is not dependent on the waist of the incident Gaussian beam.