The directionality of partially coherent beams expressed in terms of the far-field divergence angle and of the far-field radiant intensity distribution

Abstract

Taking the partially coherent cosh-Gaussian beam (ChG) as an illustrative example, the far-field divergence angle and directionality of partially coherent beams are studied. There are three competing physical mechanisms, i.e., the spatial coherence, diffraction and decentration, which affect the far-field divergence angle of partially coherent ChG beams. Two partially coherent ChG beams may generate the same far-field divergence angle, and partially coherent ChG beams may also have the same far-field divergence angle as a fully coherent ChG beam or as a fully coherent Gaussian laser beam if the three physical mechanisms are appropriately balanced. The consistency of the directionality of partially coherent beams expressed in terms of the far-field divergence angle and in terms of the far-field radiant intensity distribution is examined. Generally, two partially coherent beams with the same far-field divergence angle have not certainly the same far-field radiant intensity distribution. However, under certain conditions, it is possible to achieve the consistency of the directionality expressed in terms of the far-field divergence angle and of the normalized far-field radiant intensity distribution.