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Updated: Apr 26, 2026

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Super-Gaussian conical refraction beam
Abstract:
We demonstrate the transformation of Gaussian input beams into super-Gaussian beams with a quasi flat-top transverse profile by means of the conical refraction phenomenon by adjusting the ratio between the ring radius and the waist radius of the input beam to 0.445. We discuss the beam propagation of the super-Gaussian beam and show that it has a confocal parameter three times larger than the one that would be obtained from a Gaussian beam. The experiments performed with a KGd(WO4)2 biaxial crystal are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.
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