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Updated: Jul 31, 2025

The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
Study on the orthogonality property of Zernike modes in light beams undergoing free space propagation
Abstract:
This paper presents a study to investigate how the orthogonality property of Zernike modes gets modified as a light beam carrying the mode in its phase propagates through free space. We use a numerical simulation using scalar diffraction theory to generate propagated light beams carrying the commonly encountered Zernike modes. We present our results in terms of the inner product and orthogonality contrast matrix at propagation distances ranging from near field to far field regions. Our study will help in the understanding of how far the Zernike modes describing the phase profile of a light beam in a given plane remain approximately orthogonal to one another on propagation.
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