Abstract

In this paper, a new method for measuring the beam quality ($M^2$) of lasers based on phase retrieval with a liquid lens is proposed. With intensity profiles obtained under different focal lengths in a certain position, a variable-focus iterative retrieval algorithm is established for the reconstruction of the complex amplitude. Then $M^2$ can be calculated with the angular spectrum theory. Feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated with single- and multimode lasers through both simulations and experiments. Compared with the traditional liquid lens method, the $M^2$ of lasers can be measured faster with the proposed method.

© 2019 Optical Society of America

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