Open AccessGeneral wave optics propagation scaling law
Author(s) -
Sami A. Shakir,
Thomas M. Dolash,
Mark F. Spencer,
Richard Berdine,
Daniel S. Cargill,
Richard A. Carreras
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of the optical society of america. a, optics, image science, and vision./journal of the optical society of america. a, online
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.803
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1520-8532
pISSN - 1084-7529
DOI - 10.1364/josaa.33.002477
Subject(s) - optics , irradiance , physics , diffraction , scaling law , gaussian beam , beam (structure) , near and far field , field (mathematics) , scaling , geometrical optics , gaussian , laser , wave propagation , light beam , laser beams , beam diameter , laser beam quality , m squared , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics
A general far-field wave propagation scaling law is developed. The formulation is simple but predicts diffraction peak irradiance accurately in the far field, regardless of the near-field beam type or geometry, including laser arrays. We also introduce the concept of the equivalent uniform circular beam that generates a far-field peak irradiance and power-in-the-bucket that are the same as an arbitrary laser source. Applications to clipped Gaussian beams with an obscuration, both as a single beam and as an array of beams, are shown.