A method to design lasers that emit an arbitrary beam profile is studied. In these lasers, output-coupling is performed by a diffraction grating which imposes a phase and amplitude distribution onto the diffracted light. For near-infrared lasers, fabrication of the diffraction grating requires nanometric precision. A solid state laser emitting beams with a 2D Airy intensity profile is demosntrated both theoretically and experimentally (see figure). The laser beam profile and power characteristics are shown to agree with theory. Specifically, the beam is experimentally shown to self-heal, i.e. restore its form after passing an obstacle.
Written by Gil Porat
References
Porat, I. Dolev, O. Barlev and A. Arie, Optics Letters, Vol. 36, Issue 20, pp. 4119-4121 (2011).
Nature Photonics News and Views, Vol. 5, Issuee 12, pp. 715 (2011).
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