How to measure the beam quality M2 related to a higher order mode in multimode fibers?
We know of course how to measure the beam quality in the case of the fundamental mode and the M2 factor is derived from an approximation of the fundamental mode with a Gaussian beam. It;s actually directly related to the waist of this Gaussian beam.
However, is it still possible to approximate a higher order mode to a Gaussian function?
Then, how to measure the quality parameter M2 (experimentally)?