Eur. Phys. J. D 57, 419-425 (2010)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2010-00068-9

Propagation of higher-order cosh-Gaussian beams in uniaxial crystals orthogonal to the optical axis

Department of Optical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, Jiangsu, P.R. China

Corresponding author: lijiafeifei@sina.com

Received: 12 December 2009
Revised: 14 February 2010
Published online: 16 March 2010

Abstract

Propagation properties of higher-order cosh-Gaussian (HOCG) beams in uniaxial crystals orthogonal to the optical axis are studied. Analytical formulae for electric fields and kurtosis parameters are derived. Results show that a HOCG beam with larger acentric parameters or beam orders would better preserve its intensity profile when it propagates in uniaxial crystals. At arbitrary propagation distance flat-topped beams can be shaped by selecting appropriate acentric parameters. It is also indicated that kurtosis parameters τ_x and τ_y both increase when acentric parameters take larger values, however, they show different behaviors due to effects of anisotropic crystals.