Energy flux of a Gaussian beam in microwave band beyond the paraxial approximation

Abstract

Through the analytic method beyond the paraxial approximation, the energy flux for the general fields of a Gaussian laser beam in microwave band (∼108–1010Hz) with different diffraction angles and longitudinal positions are derived. The results indicate a Gaussian beam (GB) has a certain number of transverse energy flux, and it would be enhanced with larger diffraction angle. In the range of beyond paraxial approximation, the transverse flux plays an important role in energy distribution, so that it cannot be ignored when the GB is highly focused. Meanwhile both transverse and longitudinal energy decay along the propagation direction, and the proportion of transverse energy far from beam axis is much more than the counterpart in paraxial area. The transverse energy as mainly characteristic of GB will be much useful for the interactions between electromagnetic field and other field.