Generation and propagation of partially coherent vortex beams

Abstract:

The generation and propagation of partially coherent vortex beams have been investigated experimentally. It is found that a vortex beam with more uniform intensity distribution can be obtained by decreasing the coherence of the beam. We find that the beam shape of a completely coherent beam will keep hollow profile invariant during its propagation in free space. However, the center of the beam turns to be blurred for a partially coherent vortex beam on propagation. It is also found that the beam spreads more rapidly for the vortex beam with lower coherence, and this influence can be decreased by increasing the topological charge of the vortex beam. This work has been supported by the Key Project of Science and Technology (2007H0027) of Fujin Province and the Natural Science Founation of Fujin Province (A0810012)