Open AccessGeneration of radially and azimuthally polarized beams in Yb:YAG laser with intra-cavity lens and birefringent crystal
Author(s) -
M. P. Thirugnanasambandam,
Yuri V. Senatsky,
Ken–ichi Ueda
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.19.001905
Subject(s) - optics , laser , birefringence , lens (geology) , materials science , polarization (electrochemistry) , axial symmetry , optical axis , ring laser , physics , chemistry , quantum mechanics
We demonstrated the operation of cw diode-pumped Yb:YAG laser in radial or azimuthal polarized (RP or AP) beams using a combination of birefringent uniaxial crystal (c-cut YVO4 or α-BBO) and lens as intra-cavity elements. RP and AP doughnut modes (M2 = 2-2.5, polarization extinction ratio 50-100:1) with output power up to 60 mW were generated. Apart from doughnut modes, RP or AP ring-like off-axis oscillations and multi-ring beams with mixed RP and AP were also observed at the output of this laser scheme. Using intra-cavity short focus lenses with spherical aberrations AP or RP modes of higher orders was obtained. Mechanism of mode selection in the laser is discussed. The large variety of beams with axially symmetric polarizations from the output of the proposed laser scheme may find applications in different fields.