Stochastic complex transmittance screens for synthesizing general partially coherent sources

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Statistical Optics

Background:

• Prior research on partially coherent source (PCS) synthesis using complex transmittance screens primarily focused on Schell-model sources.
• A limitation of existing methods is the inability to generate sources with arbitrary genuine cross-spectral density (CSD) functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a general method for synthesizing any partially coherent source (PCS) with a genuine cross-spectral density (CSD) function.
• To overcome the limitations of previous techniques that were restricted to uniformly correlated sources.

Main Methods:

• Derived a superposition integral based on the necessary and sufficient condition for a genuine CSD function.
• Generated stochastic complex screen realizations where the sample autocorrelation matches the desired PCS's complex correlation function.
• Utilized a laser, spatial light modulator, and spatial filter for potential physical implementation.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized three previously challenging partially coherent sources (PCSs) in simulation.
• Validated the method by comparing simulated planar slices of four-dimensional CSD functions with theoretical predictions.
• Demonstrated excellent agreement between simulated and theoretical results, confirming the successful realization of the target PCSs.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides a robust approach for synthesizing a wider range of partially coherent sources (PCSs) with genuine cross-spectral density (CSD) functions.
• This technique expands the toolkit for optical field generation and has practical implications for optical system design.
• The proposed method is physically realizable with standard optical components.