Polarization components play a vital role in a variety of consumer products, including displays, AR/VR devices, sensors including LIDAR, as well as in modern photonics systems.
Traditional polarizing beam splitters based on birefringent crystals are too bulky and expensive for mass production. Multi-layer polarizing beam-splitting structures are limited to the transparency window of the substrate and the layer stack and often have low radiation resistance. Plasmonic structures, such as wire grid polarizers, are often the only viable choice in the infrared (IR). Multi-layer polarizing beam splitters and wire grid polarizers require folded configurations for their integration into photonics systems.
This work provides design and performance optimization details of meta-optics all-dielectric polarization beam splitters for the IR spectral region operating in transmission for both polarization states. Their performance is compared to that of wire grid polarizers designed for the same spectral range, and practical considerations for their manufacturability and system integration are also presented.
In this work, we demonstrate a new sensing modality of a field-deployable mid-infrared quantum cascade laser dual-comb spectrometer with a raster-scan setup for collecting hyperspectral images of contaminated surfaces from a distance.
The laser beam M2 quality parameter is based on the second moments’ theory, as defined by ISO standards, and provides a common approach for defining the propagation characteristics of laser beams as a whole. At the same time, the M2 parameter fails to quantitatively distinguish the quality of laser beams with different spatial characteristics. For example, several laser beams with very different spatial profiles may have the same M2 value. To overcome this ambiguity, a different beam quality criterion is introduced, allowing for a quantitative definition of both the structured laser beam shape and its propagation characteristics. This criterion, called the encircled power M2 (EPM2), bridges the gap between the M2 quality parameter and the structured laser beam shape. Based on several examples we demonstrate the utility of EPM2 as applied to characterization of several structured laser beam types.
Propagation-invariant structured laser beams possess several unique properties and play an important role in various photonics applications. The majority of propagation invariant beams are produced in the form of laser modes emanating from stable laser cavities. Therefore, their spatial structure is limited by the intracavity mode formation. We show that several types of anamorphic optical systems (AOSs) can be effectively employed to shape laser beams into a variety of propagation invariant structured fields with different shapes and phase distributions. We present a propagation matrix approach for designing AOSs and defining mode-matching conditions required for preserving propagation invariance of the output shaped fields. The propagation matrix approach was selected, as it provides a more straightforward approach in designing AOSs for shaping propagation-invariant laser beams than the alternative technique based on the Gouy phase evolution, especially in the case of multielement AOSs. Several practical configurations of optical systems that are suitable for shaping input laser beams into a diverse variety of structured propagation invariant laser beams are also presented. The laser beam shaping approach was applied by modeling propagation characteristics of several input laser beam types, including Hermite–Gaussian, Laguerre–Gaussian, and Ince–Gaussian structured field distributions. The influence of the Ince–Gaussian beam semifocal separation parameter and the azimuthal orientation between the input laser beams and the AOSs onto the resulting shape of the propagation invariant laser beams is presented as well.
Due to their several unique properties, propagation invariant laser beams (PILBs) are playing an increasingly important role in several photonics applications. This paper describes some practical aspects of producing propagation invariant laser beams with different symmetries and structured light field distributions. Both intra-cavity and extra-cavity schemes can be employed. In the case of extra-cavity implementations, we show several practical layouts of anamorphic optical systems (AOSs) for shaping the propagation-invariant laser beams based on the size and waist locations of the input laser beams. We also establish matrix equations required to quantify the influence of input PILBs lateral and angular misalignments with respect to the AOSs onto the spatial characteristics of the produced output PILBs, and present examples of the resulting PILBs affected by the input PILBs misalignments.
Propagation invariant laser beams (PILBs) represent a class of coherent structured field distributions possessing several unique properties. PILB shapes have been traditionally produced as the output mode field distributions of stable laser resonators. To expand the diversity of possible PILB shapes, additional techniques have been developed, including PILB transformations with the aid of anamorphic optical systems.
The unique properties of PILBs make them an attractive choice in several optical metrology applications, including superresolution microscopy. In this paper, we apply novel PILB shapes produced with anamorphic optical systems to optical metrology of sub-wavelength sized phase objects. The anamorphic transformation technique is based on a single propagating laser field, and is therefore simpler to implement than interferometric beam transformations based on superposition of optical fields.
We explore the interactions between PILBs and nanoscale phase objects, representative of sub-wavelength lithographic patterns and nano-particles. We observe that the sensitivity of PILBs to phase perturbations is dependent on the beam shape. Analysis of the far field diffraction patterns produced can provide information about the location and shape of the nanoscale phase structures. Results of our study can be applied to high-resolution detection of small phase objects in a variety of fields within optical metrology.
We describe a novel coherent radiation enhancement technique and its application to laser beam shaping. The technique is based on coherent transformations of the propagating radiation employing amplitude and/or phase structures, and produces localized radiation enhancements in the output plane. The described technique offers significant flexibility in generating a variety of output laser beam shapes. Employment of electronically controllable spatial light modulators in place of the phase or amplitude structures allows dynamic adjustments of the output laser beam patterns. We demonstrate the influence of various parameters on the resulting output radiation enhancements, including the effects of the shape of the propagating radiation as well as the shape and size of the phase or amplitude structures. Our results indicate that by appropriately selecting the phase and amplitude characteristics of the structures employed during the beam shaping, a significant increase in the resulting peak intensities of the shaped beams is achieved.
Bessel beams belong to a class of propagation invariant, structured beams, and are used in a variety of applications,
including particle micro-manipulation, optical coherence tomography, optical metrology, and high resolution
microscopy. In practical applications, Bessel beams are formed by the interaction of optical fields with finite lateral
dimensions.
In this paper, we discuss the formation and propagation characteristics of Bessel beams based on input field distributions
defined by Laguerre-Gaussian beams of different orders. We present the influence of the beam order on the shape and
the axial intensity distribution of the resulting Bessel beams. One of the limiting factors in the applications of Bessel
beams is related to the variations in the axial intensity distribution of the produced beams. We show that the incoherent
superposition of input Laguerre-Gaussian beams of different orders can resolve the above limitation and produce Bessel
beams with uniform peak intensity distributions over an extended axial distance.
Bessel beams belong to a class of propagation invariant, structured laser beams, and are used in various applications,
including particle micro-manipulation, optical coherence tomography, optical metrology, and high resolution
microscopy. In practice, Bessel beams are produced by optical fields with finite lateral dimensions propagating through
finite aperture optical components, such as axicons. However, field distortions and component misalignments influence
the shape of the resulting beams.
In this paper, we present the influence of the beam shape and ellipticity, beam forming optics imperfections, and
component misalignments on the shape of the resulting Bessel beams along the direction of propagation. Our results
demonstrate that even modest fabrication errors in the input field distribution or component formation can significantly
increase undesirable axial intensity oscillations in the resulting Bessel beams. Misalignments between the axicon and
incoming laser beam can additionally lead to a decrease in the maximum axial intensity of the propagating beam.
The coherent superposition of propagation-invariant laser beams represents an important beam-shaping technique, and results in new beam shapes which retain the unique property of propagation invariance. Propagation-invariant laser beam shapes depend on the order of the propagating beam, and include Hermite-Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian beams, as well as the recently introduced Ince-Gaussian beams which additionally depend on the beam ellipticity parameter. While the superposition of Hermite-Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian beams has been discussed in the past, the coherent superposition of Ince-Gaussian laser beams has not received significant attention in literature.
In this paper, we present the formation of propagation-invariant laser beams based on the coherent superposition of Hermite-Gaussian, Laguerre-Gaussian, and Ince-Gaussian beams of different orders. We also show the resulting field distributions of the superimposed Ince-Gaussian laser beams as a function of the ellipticity parameter. By changing the beam ellipticity parameter, we compare the various shapes of the superimposed propagation-invariant laser beams transitioning from Laguerre-Gaussian beams at one ellipticity extreme to Hermite-Gaussian beams at the other extreme.
We propose a novel super-resolution scanning microscopy technique employing higher-order propagationinvariant
laser beams. The technique is capable of resolving objects with lateral dimensions smaller than that of the focal
spot size defined by a propagating TEM00 (single mode) Gaussian beam. The field distributions at the object plane are produced by employing a spatial phase modulator. The acquired signals from the localized laser beam nodes are
employed in image reconstruction, resulting in post-processed super-resolved images. The desired increase in spatial
resolution is associated with an increase in the time required to spatially probe the region of interest covered by the
propagating optical field. Our technique is based on a single propagating laser field, and is therefore significantly simpler to implement than techniques employing composite laser fields, such as STED (stimulated emission depletion) microscopy.
In this paper, we discuss the properties of propagation-invariant structured laser beams. We show the influence of
different beam obstructions on the resulting structure of the beams. We present a reconstruction technique that, in spite
of the remarkable self-healing properties of the propagation-invariant beams, allows us to define the size and shape of
the obstructions encountered by the structured beam during propagation. The presented technique may have several
practical applications in the fields of photonics and laser optics, including high resolution microscopy, optical
information processing, and optical cryptography.
In this paper we will be discussing different techniques for producing superresolved point-spread functions (PSFs) that
are based on amplitude and phase pupil masks. We propose a novel method of producing elongated superresolved pointspread
functions (PSFs) using a combination of a vortex phase modulation technique and elliptical amplitude masking at
the pupil of an optical system. When compared to diffraction-limited PSFs produced by an optical system with the same
pupil ellipticity, the proposed method produces a significant reduction in PSF width. The proposed technique can be
applied to a variety of applications, including scanning microscopy and optical micromanipulation, as well as highdensity
optical data storage.
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