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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
Modal decomposition of partially coherent flat-topped beams produced by multimode lasers
Abstract:
We present a simple mathematical model giving a possible description of a partially coherent light beam exhibiting a flat-topped transverse intensity profile. Such a model allows us to deduce the modal distribution inside a multimode stable optical cavity, assuming that the modes are of the Hermite-Gauss type. The analytical expression used to represent flat-topped profiles is of the flattened Gaussian type and leads to an exact, closed-form expression for the M(2) factor of the output beam. An analogous procedure could be used to treat the general problem of deducing the modal distribution inside a laser cavity starting from intensity measurements of the output beam.
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