Experimental characterization of vector Parabolic-Gauss beams

Abstract

The theoretical and experimental study of optical beams that satisfy Helmholtz equation un­ der the paraxial regime is a relatively recent field in Optics and Photonics. Assuming quasi­ parallel propagation of a beam along a longitudinal axis, transversal planes of it can be mathe­ matically stated, which, embedded to a Gaussian apodization, are known as Helmholtz-Gauss (HzG) beams. Scalar orthogonal families of solutions of HzG beams such as Mathieu-Gauss, Bessel-Gauss, Parabolic-Gauss (PG), have been thoroughly studied trough numerical and ex­ perimental generation. Nonetheless, the Helmholtz equation admits vector solutions con­ structed from scalar HzG beams. Such vector HzG beams present electrical polarization dependent of the transversal locality, so that every point in the xy plane manifests its own polarization state. In this dissertation, motivated by the absence of report of experimental