Method for the determination of geometric parameters of quasi-Gaussian laser beams

Two interference methods were developed for measuring geometric parameters of quasi-Gaussian beams. In these methods, the radius of curvature of the wavefront, radius of the diffraction-limited divergence, and radius and position of the beam constriction were determined by measuring the distances between the maxima or minima in an interference pattern. There was no need to plot the sensitivity curve of the photographic film. Moreover, the proposed methods provided easy means for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the wavefront aberrations.