Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Shaping the Amplitude and Phase of Laser Beams by Using a Phase-only Spatial Light Modulator
Published on: January 28, 2019
Continuous-phase elements can improve laser beam quality
Abstract:
Siegman [Opt. Lett. 18, 675 (1993)] showed that binary-phase plates cannot improve laser beam quality. We demonstrate that continuous spiral phase elements can improve the quality of beams that originate from a laser operating with a pure high-order transverse mode. A theoretical analysis is presented, along with experimental results obtained with a CO(2) laser. The results reveal that a nearly optimal Gaussian output beam can be obtained with only a small decrease in the output power.
Related Concept Videos
Time and frequency -Domain Interpretation of Phase-lead Control
The design of phase-lead control involves the strategic placement of poles and zeros to balance steady-state error and system...
Time and frequency -Domain Interpretation of Phase-lag Control
Phase-lag controllers do not place a pole at zero, but instead influence the steady-state error by amplifying any finite,...
Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...

