Evaluation of the modal structure of light beams composed of incoherent mixtures of Hermite–Gaussian modes

Abstract

A new, to our knowledge, technique for determining the modal content of partially coherent beams that are made up of an incoherent superposition of Hermite–Gaussian modes is studied. The algorithm makes use of the intensity profile of the beam at an arbitrarily chosen transverse plane. Analytical derivations are presented for a Gaussian Schell-model source and flat-topped beams, as well as an analysis of their performances in the presence of experimental errors and noise. Numerical simulations are performed to test the accuracy and the stability of the recovery algorithm.

© 1999 Optical Society of America

Intensity-based modal analysis of partially coherent beams with Hermite–Gaussian modes

F. Gori, M. Santarsiero, R. Borghi, and G. Guattari
Opt. Lett. 23(13) 989-991 (1998)

Evaluation of the spatial coherence of a light beam through transverse intensity measurements

Riccardo Borghi, Giorgio Guattari, Lorenzo de la Torre, Franco Gori, and Massimo Santarsiero
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 20(9) 1763-1770 (2003)

Modal decomposition of partially coherent flat-topped beams produced by multimode lasers

Riccardo Borghi and Massimo Santarsiero
Opt. Lett. 23(5) 313-315 (1998)

Intensity-based modal decomposition of optical beams in terms of Hermite–Gaussian functions

Xin Xue, Haiqing Wei, and Andrew G. Kirk
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 17(6) 1086-1091 (2000)

Incoherent superposition of off-axis polychromatic Hermite–Gaussian modes

Luis Martı́-López, Omel Mendoza-Yero, and Joris J. J. Dirckx
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 19(8) 1572-1582 (2002)