Laser beam quality is a key parameter for reliable operation of most laser-based devices. In the laser community, the widely accepted way of measuring parameters of the TEM₀₀ mode of a Gaussian beam is the use of sophisticated and expensive beam profilers. They include camera-based profilers, analog or digital-knife-edge profilers, pinhole-based beam profilers, and other expensive tools, which researchers have to keep on a shelf for quick beam quality analysis. But what if this device isn't available immediately? In a recent paper published in Applied Optics, the authors go beyond those traditional techniques. They demonstrate a novel beam profiling method that uses low-cost, off-the-shelf circular apertures such as irises and spatial filters, which are commonly available in most optical laboratories. Their experimental results demonstrated an excellent performance comparable to that of standard knife-edge-based beam profilers. This very simple way of Gaussian beam characterization could prove useful for field tests of laser equipment, when traditional devices for evaluation of TEM₀₀ mode parameters are not accessible.

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