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From the above expression for divergence, this means the Gaussian beam model is only accurate for beams with waists larger than about 2λ/π. Laser beam quality is quantified by the beam parameter product (BPP). For a Gaussian beam, the BPP is the product of the beam's divergence and waist size w 0. The BPP of a real beam is obtained by ...
The divergence of good-quality laser beams is modeled using the mathematics of Gaussian beams. Gaussian laser beams are said to be diffraction limited when their radial beam divergence θ = Θ / 2 {\displaystyle \theta =\Theta /2} is close to the minimum possible value, which is given by [ 2 ]
Instead, the irradiance falls off gradually away from the center of the beam. It is very common for the beam to have a Gaussian profile. Laser physicists typically choose to make θ the divergence of the beam: the far-field angle between the beam axis and the distance from the axis at which the irradiance drops to e −2 times
Gaussian beam width () as a function of the axial distance .: beam waist; : confocal parameter; : Rayleigh length; : total angular spread In optics and especially laser science, the Rayleigh length or Rayleigh range, , is the distance along the propagation direction of a beam from the waist to the place where the area of the cross section is doubled. [1]
Unlike the previous beam width definitions, the D86 width is not derived from marginal distributions. The percentage of 86, rather than 50, 80, or 90, is chosen because a circular Gaussian beam profile integrated down to 1/e 2 of its peak value contains 86% of its total power. The D86 width is often used in applications that are concerned with ...
Multi-mode beam propagation is often modeled by considering a so-called "embedded" Gaussian, whose beam waist is M times smaller than that of the multimode beam. The diameter of the multimode beam is then M times that of the embedded Gaussian beam everywhere, and the divergence is M times greater, but the wavefront curvature is the same.
Each optical element (surface, interface, mirror, or beam travel) is described by a 2 × 2 ray transfer matrix which operates on a vector describing an incoming light ray to calculate the outgoing ray. Multiplication of the successive matrices thus yields a concise ray transfer matrix describing the entire optical system.
A Gaussian beam has the lowest possible BPP, /, where is the wavelength of the light. [1] The ratio of the BPP of an actual beam to that of an ideal Gaussian beam at the same wavelength is denoted M 2 ("M squared"). This parameter is a wavelength-independent measure of beam quality.