Four-petal Gaussian beams and their propagation

A new form of laser beams called four-petal Gaussian beams is introduced. Based on the Collins integral, two kinds of analytical propagation expressions for this new kind of beams through a paraxial ABCD optical system are derived. The propagation properties of the four-petal Gaussian beams are studied and illustrated with numerical examples. At the source plane the beam has four-petals; the space among the petals is determined by the beam order. In the far field the beam evolves into a number of mirror symmetric petals and the petals of higher order beams can be equally spaced.