Characterization and generation of high-power multi-axis vortex beams by using off-axis pumped degenerate cavities with external astigmatic mode converter

Abstract

The generalized geometric mode with several high-order Hermite-Gaussian (HG) beams localized on ray periodic orbits in the degenerate resonator is generated by an off-axis pumped Nd: YVO4 laser, by performing beam transformation via an astigmatic mode converter, the generalized geometric modes are found that can be converted into the multi-axis vortex beams with the bundled-rings structures. Experimental results reveal that the generated multi-axis vortex beams can preserve quite stable beam structures even under high-power operation. Moreover, the radius of the bundled rings for the multi-axis vortex beams can be flexibly adjusted by the off-axis pumping to lead to vortex structures with easily controlled orbital angular momentum distribution. The good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results of propagation evolution for the astigmatic transformation of generalized geometric modes further verify the feasibility of using the proposed system to realize various high-powered, multi-center vortex beams with good reliability and predictability. (c) 2018 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement