Scalar modified Bessel-Gauss beams and waves

For modified Bessel-Gauss beams, the modulating function for the Gaussian, instead of a Bessel function of real argument, is a Bessel function of imaginary argument. The modified Bessel-Gauss beams and their full wave generalizations are treated with particular attention to the spreading properties on propagation for the azimuthal mode numbers m = 0 and m = 1. The spreading on propagation of the peak and the null in the radiation pattern obtained in the propagation direction for nr = 0 and m = 1, respectively, is substantially less for the modified Bessel-Gauss waves than that for the corresponding Bessel-Gauss waves. The total power transported by the waves is determined and compared with that of the corresponding paraxial beam to assess the quality of the paraxial beam approximation for the wave. The powers in the Bessel-Gauss wave and the modified Bessel-Gauss wave are finite in contrast to that in the Bessel wave. With respect to both the spreading properties and the quality of the paraxial beam approximation, the modified Bessel-Gauss beam is an improvement over the Bessel-Gauss beam. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.