Method and system for measuring beam quality of a laser beam
AssigneeUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
InventorAndrew Forbes
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Abstract
This invention relates to a method of and a system for determining a beam quality factor (VQF) of a beam of light having a transverse electric field that may be scalar, vector, or a combination thereof, wherein the VQF is a measure of the degree of vectorness of the beam of light varying between pure scalar and pure vector. The beam is typically a laser beam, wherein the method comprises receiving an input laser beam to be analysed and splitting the received beam of light into two orthogonal components. A predetermined number of modes or states per orthogonal component is then detected and an on axis intensity of each detected mode or state detected is measured. The measured intensities is then used to calculate the VQF in terms using at least one quantum mechanical entanglement measure.
Claims20
A method for determining a beam quality factor (VQF) of a beam of light having a transverse electric field that may be scalar, vector, or a combination thereof, wherein the VQF is a measure of the degree of vectorness of the beam of light varying between pure scalar and pure vector, wherein the method comprises:
- receiving a beam of light;
- splitting the received beam of light into two orthogonal components;
- detecting a predetermined number of modes or states per orthogonal component, wherein the predetermined number of modes or states detected are the same or substantially similar for each orthogonal component;
- measuring an on axis intensity of each mode or state detected;
- and
- calculating the VQF in terms of the measured on axis intensities using at least one quantum mechanical entanglement measure.
A system for determining a beam quality factor (VQF) of a beam of light having a transverse electric field that may be scalar, vector, or a combination thereof, wherein the VQF is a measure of the degree of vectorness of the beam of light varying between pure scalar and pure vector, wherein the system comprises:
- a beam splitter configured to split a received beam of light into two orthogonal components travelling in two optical paths;
- a match filter arrangement intersecting the two optical paths, wherein the match filter arrangement is configured to detect a predetermined number of modes or states per orthogonal component, wherein the predetermined number of modes or states detected are the same or substantially similar for each orthogonal component;
- a detector configured to measure an on axis intensity of each mode or state detected by the match filter arrangement;
- and
- a processor configured to receive the on axis intensities measured by the detector, or data indicative thereof, and process the same to calculate the VQF in terms of the measured on axis intensities by using at least one quantum mechanical entanglement measure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.