Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Paraxial propagation of a partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beam through aligned and misaligned ABCD optical
1Max-Planck-Research-Group, Institute of Optics, Information and Photonics, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany. yangjian_cai@yahoo.com.cn
Abstract:
Paraxial propagation of a partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beam through aligned and misaligned ABCD optical systems is investigated based on the generalized Collins formula for treating the propagation of a partially coherent beam through such optical systems. Analytical formulas for the cross-spectral density of a partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beam propagating through such optical systems are derived. As an application example, we derive the propagation formulas for a partially coherent flattened Gaussian beam by expressing it as a superposition of a series of partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beams by using polynomial expansion. The focusing properties of a partially coherent Hermite-Gaussian beam focused by a thin lens are studied as a numerical example.
Related Concept Videos
Interference and Diffraction
Plane Electromagnetic Waves I
The EM field is assumed to be a...
Propagation of Waves
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
Beams with Symmetric Loadings
The M/EI...

