Diffraction patterns of laser beams with thermal self-phase modulation by optically thin films

Summary A mathematical model of the far-field diffraction pattern of a laser beam with laser heating self-phase modulation through an optically thin film is presented. We deal with the steady-state temperature field generated by the weak absorption of a laser beam in an optically and thermally thin film bounded by two transparent plates, the cell walls, whose thermal exchange to the surrounding ambient has been assumed to be linear in the temperature difference to the ambient. These hypotheses describe the application of the steady-state ?thermal lens? spectroscopy to the detection of the optical or thermal properties of liquid samples. We give a very simple expression for the diffracted intensity that appears suitable for fast computer calculations. The good accuracy of the technique is shown by comparison with the results given by more intricate approaches. To speed up publication, the authors of this paper have agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.