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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Abstract:
This paper describes an experiment confirming the existence of the waist shift of a Gaussian beam caused by a dielectric plate. A glass or acrylic plate was inserted in a focused laser beam with its surfaces perpendicular to the beam axis. The waist position of the transmitted beam determined from the measured spot sizes indicates that the shift does occur and its direction and magnitude are consistent with the theory.
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