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Updated: Oct 17, 2025

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Laguerre-Gaussian beam generation via enhanced intracavity spherical aberration
Abstract:
We demonstrate an end-pumped Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) mode-selectable Nd:YVO4 laser utilizing enhanced intracavity spherical aberration. The cavity was designed to exploit strong spherical aberration generated by an expanded beam, incident on a short-focal-length lens, which enabled oscillation of cavity modes of different order. This compact-cavity laser could operate efficiently with high-order LG mode, with the order of this mode being selectively changed by simply adjusting the distance between the short-focal-length lens and the output coupler. Scalar LG modes from LG0,±10 to up to LG0,±33 were observed in the experiment. The output power of the LG0, ±33 mode was 1.87 W under an absorbed pump power of 6.6 W.
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