Control of tightly focused laser beams in the THz range

Abstract

AbstractThe possibility for control of tightly focused laser beams excited by the resonator modes of a THz laser based on a hollow circular dielectric waveguide is studied theoretically and experimentally. The wavelength of the radiation under study is 0.4326 mm corresponding to the generation line of the optically pumped HCOOH‐molecule THz laser. The focusing system is implemented by a short‐focus lens covered by absorbing masks in the central region. The focal area parameters were controlled by changing the size of the masks. The electric field components of the laser modes are calculated using the Rayleigh‐Sommerfeld integral transformations under non‐paraxial approximation. The use of absorbing masks made it possible to reduce the beam diameter in the focal region and increase the depth of focus of the linearly polarized EH11‐mode and azimuthally polarized TE01‐mode as well. In this case, despite of the presence of an absorbing mask, the distribution of the total field intensity of the TE01‐mode retained its annular shape, and the field maximum of the EH11‐mode is observed at center of the focal spot. The results of this work can be implemented in medical diagnostics, high‐speed communications, and environmental monitoring.