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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Tight focusing of partially coherent and circularly polarized vortex beams
Abstract:
Based on the vectorial Debye theory, the tight focusing properties of partially coherent and circularly polarized vortex beams are investigated. The focused characteristics of right-circular and left-circular polarized partially coherent vortex beams in the focal region are presented and compared by some numerical calculation results. Furthermore, the influences of the source coherence and the numerical aperture of the focusing objective on the tight focusing properties are studied in great detail. It is shown that the coherence and polarization properties of the focused left-circular polarized beam is less influenced by the source coherence and the numerical aperture of the focusing objective than that of the focused right-circular polarized beam. By selecting certain parameters, the widely used flat top beam can be obtained.
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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...
