Fifth-order corrected electromagnetic field components for a fundamental Gaussian beam

Abstract

Fifth-order corrected expressions for the electromagnetic field components of a monochromatic fundamental Gaussian beam (i.e., a focused TEM00 mode laser beam) propagating within a homogeneous dielectric media are derived and presented. Calculations of relative error indicate that the fifth-order Gaussian beam description provides a significantly improved solution to Maxwell’s equations in comparison with commonly used paraxial (zeroth-order) and first-order Gaussian beam descriptions.