Complex Lasers with Controllable Coherence

TL;DR

This paper reviews complex laser designs that allow precise control over spatial coherence, reducing artifacts like speckle noise and enabling new technological applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of unconventional laser cavity geometries and feedback mechanisms for coherence control, highlighting recent advances and potential uses.

Findings

Tailored cavity geometries can reduce spatial coherence.

Controlling coherence improves imaging and measurement applications.

New laser designs enable suppression of speckle noise.

Abstract

The invention of lasers 60 years ago is one of the greatest breakthroughs in modern optics. Throughout the years, lasers have enabled major scientific and technological advancements, and have been exploited in numerous applications due to their advantages such as high brightness and high coherence. However, the high spatial coherence of laser illumination is not always desirable, as it can cause adverse artifacts such as speckle noise. To reduce the spatial coherence, novel laser cavity geometries and alternative feedback mechanisms have been developed. By tailoring the spatial and spectral properties of cavity resonances, the number of lasing modes, the emission profiles and the coherence properties can be controlled. This review presents an overview of such unconventional, complex lasers, with a focus on their spatial coherence properties. Laser coherence control not only provides an efficient means for eliminating coherent artifacts, but also enables new applications.