IMPROVED STANDARD BEAMS WITH APPLICATION TO REVERSE RADIATION PRESSURE

Recently a so-called standard beam description of Gaussian beams was i ntroduced [J. Opt. Sec. Am. A 11, 2503 (1994)]. However, it was afterw ard observed [Appl. Opt. 35, 2702 (1996)] that this description exhibi ts a finite radius of convergence, limiting its range of applicability . We introduce an improved standard beam description with an infinite radius of convergence. The utility of this improved description is ill ustrated by evaluation of radiation pressure forces under severe focus ing conditions. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.