Gaussian Laser Beam Diameters

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Abstract
A laser is notably an intense monochromatic source of radiation. The source radiates at wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum according to its design. Lasers emit a very narrow cone of radiation referred to as a laser beam. The lowest order transverse electromagnetic (TEM) mode output of a laser is a beam with a spherical gaussian wavefront (Young, 1972a). The characteristics of this beam are typically radially symmetric about its axis, the principal direction of propagation. At any perpendicular cross section of the beam its radiance, that is, its brightness as perceived by the eye in the visible region of the spectrum, is also gaussian; it is at a maximum on the axis and falls off with distance from the axis. For a helium-neon laser, the beam of light at a wavelength of 632.8 nm may be characterized to a first order by a nominal divergence of about 1 mrad for a nominal diameter of about 1 mm. It is the definition and clarification of the “diameter” of a laser beam that I address.

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