Lecture

Paraboloidal Waves and Gaussian Beams

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In course

PHYS-317: Optics I

L'optique est un vieux domaine qui touche à beaucoup de sujets modernes, des techniques expérimentales aux applications courantes. Ce premier cours traite plusieurs aspects de base de l'optique: propagation, dispersion, interférence, diffraction, polarisat ...

Description

This lecture introduces the concept of paraboloidal waves as solutions to the wave equation, focusing on the paraxial approximation and the transformation into Gaussian beams. It covers the physical interpretation, mathematical derivations, and properties of these waves, including intensity, size, and divergence. The lecture also explores the application of Gaussian beams in measuring distances accurately using laser pulses and the challenges faced due to atmospheric conditions and equipment limitations.

Instructor

Benjamin Dwir

Academic title: Dr. Birth date: 24.10.1959 Nationality: Swiss At EPFL since: 1988

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Gaussian beam

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. This fundamental (or TEM00) transverse Gaussian mode describes the intended output of most (but not all) lasers, as such a beam can be focused into the most concentrated spot. When such a beam is refocused by a lens, the transverse phase dependence is altered; this results in a different Gaussian beam.

Copenhagen interpretation

The Copenhagen interpretation is a collection of views about the meaning of quantum mechanics, stemming from the work of Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and others. The term "Copenhagen interpretation" was apparently coined by Heisenberg during the 1950s to refer to ideas developed in the 1925–1927 period, glossing over his disagreements with Bohr. Consequently, there is no definitive historical statement of what the interpretation entails.

Beam divergence

In electromagnetics, especially in optics, beam divergence is an angular measure of the increase in beam diameter or radius with distance from the optical aperture or antenna aperture from which the beam emerges. The term is relevant only in the "far field", away from any focus of the beam. Practically speaking, however, the far field can commence physically close to the radiating aperture, depending on aperture diameter and the operating wavelength.

Interpretations of quantum mechanics

An interpretation of quantum mechanics is an attempt to explain how the mathematical theory of quantum mechanics might correspond to experienced reality. Although quantum mechanics has held up to rigorous and extremely precise tests in an extraordinarily broad range of experiments, there exist a number of contending schools of thought over their interpretation. These views on interpretation differ on such fundamental questions as whether quantum mechanics is deterministic or stochastic, local or non-local, which elements of quantum mechanics can be considered real, and what the nature of measurement is, among other matters.

Pulsed laser

Pulsed operation of lasers refers to any laser not classified as continuous wave, so that the optical power appears in pulses of some duration at some repetition rate. This encompasses a wide range of technologies addressing a number of different motivations. Some lasers are pulsed simply because they cannot be run in continuous mode. In other cases the application requires the production of pulses having as large an energy as possible.

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