What is Gaussian beam profile?

In optics, a Gaussian beam is a beam of electromagnetic radiation with high monochromaticity whose amplitude envelope in the transverse plane is given by a Gaussian function; this also implies a Gaussian intensity (irradiance) profile.

What is a super Gaussian?

Near-field beam shaping optics, also called beam transformers, re-map an input Gaussian profile to a top hat profile. The higher the order of the super Gaussian, the sharper the profile. Sharper profiles tend to result in more diffraction effects while softer edges tend to propagate further with a uniform distribution.

Is the flat top beam a supergaussian profile?

Typically, however, a flat-top beam profile still has some smooth edges, so that it can be approximated with a supergaussian profile, rather than a rectangular profile. A supergaussian intensity profile of order n is defined by the following equation: The higher the order, the steeper are the edges of the profile.

How are flat top beams different from Gaussian beams?

Figure 1: A flat-top beam profile (red) in comparison to a Gaussian (green) and super-Gaussian (blue) intensity profile. All three beams have the same optical power and the same effective mode area .

How are Gaussian beams related to optical intensity?

Here, the transverse profile of the optical intensity of the beam with a power P can be described with a Gaussian function: The name “Gaussian beams” results from the use of the Gaussian amplitude and intensity profile functions; it is not a concept in Gaussian optics.

What is the evolution of a supergaussian beam?

Figure 3: Evolution of an initially supergaussian beam in free space. The beam profile first contracts and then expands again, now getting smooth edges. Note that the color scale of each profile is adjusted such that the same color saturation is achieved on the beam axis; in reality, the intensity decreases for the expanding beam.