Rotation of elliptic optical beams in anisotropic media

We investigate the linear propagation of a paraxial optical beam in anisotropic media. We start from the eigenmode solution of the plane wave in the media, then subsequently derive the wave equation for the beam propagating along a general direction except the optic axes. The wave equation contains a second-order mixed derivative term originating from the anisotropy, and this term can result in the rotation of the beam-spot. The rotation effect is investigated by solving analytically the wave equation with an initial elliptical Gaussian beam for both uniaxial and biaxial media. For both media, it is found that there exists a specific direction, which is dependent on anisotropy of the media, on the cross-section perpendicular to propagation direction to determine the rotation of the beam-spot. When the major axes of the elliptical beam-spot of the input beam are parallel to the specific direction, the beam-spot will not rotate during propagation, otherwise, it will rotate with the direction and the velocity determined by input parameters of the beam.

Research highlights
► Coefficient expressions for paraxial wave equation in anisotropic medium are obtained.
► The beam-spot generally rotates during propagation due to the anisotropy.
► A specific direction on the cross-section determines the rotation of the beam-spot.
► The velocity and direction of the beam-spot are determined by input parameters.