Super-Gaussian conical refraction beam

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how conical refraction can transform Gaussian beams into super-Gaussian beams with flat-top profiles, showing improved propagation characteristics and matching theoretical predictions through experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a method to generate super-Gaussian beams via conical refraction by tuning the beam parameters, with experimental validation.

Findings

Super-Gaussian beams with flat-top profiles achieved

Confocal parameter tripled compared to Gaussian beams

Experimental results agree with theoretical models

Abstract

We demonstrate the transformation of Gaussian input beams into super-Gaussian beams with a quasi flat-top transverse profile by means of the conical refraction phenomenon by adjusting the ratio between the ring radius and the waist radius of the input beam to 0.445. We discuss the beam propagation of the super-Gaussian beam and show that it has a confocal parameter three times larger than the one that would be obtained from a Gaussian beam. The experiments performed with a KGd(WO4)2 biaxial crystal are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.