Tunable structured laser over full spatial spectrum

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics

Background:

• Tunable lasers are crucial for scientific research and optical applications.
• There is a growing demand for tunable structured lasers with high modal purity, but no commercial options are currently available.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the first tunable structured laser capable of emitting all single transverse electromagnetic (TEM) modes with high purity across a broad spatial spectrum.
• To introduce a novel laser design that addresses the lack of commercial solutions for tunable structured light generation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an intracavity pump geometry combined with astigmatic detuning.
• Developed an astigmatic oscillator design to selectively amplify desired TEM modes while suppressing others.
• Demonstrated the ability to generate a wide range of Hermite-Gauss modes and their expansion into Hermite-Laguerre-Gauss modes.

Main Results:

• Achieved the first tunable generation of all possible single TEM modes with extremely high purity.
• Successfully generated over 40,000 orthogonal Hermite-Gauss modes within the experimental setup.
• Showcased the potential for each mode to be further expanded into numerous Hermite-Laguerre-Gauss modes.

Conclusions:

• The presented astigmatic oscillator offers a promising design for commercially available structured lasers.
• This approach enables full spatial spectrum tunability without requiring additional intracavity beam-shaping components.
• The laser provides a versatile platform for advanced applications in structured light and optical frequency control.