Generation of an elliptic hollow beam using Mathieu and Bessel functions (original) (raw)

Generation of dark hollow beam by use of phase-only filtering

Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 2009

A simple but effective scheme to generate dark hollow beams is proposed by use of phase-only filtering and optical Fourier transform. A Gaussian beam of fundamental mode is modulated by a pre-designed phase mask, which is a piecewise modification of an axicon lens, and followed by a Fourier transform to generate an ideal dark hollow beam at the focal plane. This method has an advantage that the total energy of the beam is conserved under paraxial approximation. Numerical calculations are provided to show the validity of the proposed scheme.

Observation of the vortex structure of a non-integer vortex beam

New Journal of Physics, 2004

An optical beam with an e ilφ phase structure carries an orbital angular momentum of lh per photon. For integer l values, the phase fronts of such beams form perfect helices with a single screw-phase dislocation, or vortex, on the beam axis. For non-integer l values, Berry (2004 J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 6 259) predicts a complex-phase structure comprising many vortices at differing positions within the beam cross-section. Using a spatial light modulator we produce e ilφ beams with varying l. We examine the phase structure of such beams after propagation through an interference-based phase-measurement technique. As predicted, we observe that for half-integer l values, a line of alternating charge vortices is formed near the radial dislocation.

GENERATION OF OPTICAL VORTEX BEAMS BY COMPACT STRUCTURES

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) has been an enthralling topic of research from fundamental physics to technological applications since its discovery in 1992. Many techniques have been developed to generate OAM such as using spiral phase plates (SPPs), computer-generated holograms (CGH) and cylindrical mode converters, etc. However, these methods are based on bulky optics that cause a major hindrance for their exploitation in the emerging area of micron-nanophotonics. Recently, generation of such helical beams by micron-sized structures has gained momentous interest to make their appliance possible at small scale. This paper recapitulates these endeavors of minuscule optical vortex generation. Five di®erent types of compact optical vortex generators, i.e., downscaling of conventional OAM generators, plasmonic vortex lens (PVLs), metasurfaces, integrated OAM emitters and subwavelength apertures are brought under discussion.

Generating and analyzing non-diffracting vector vortex beams

Laser Beam Shaping XIV, 2013

We experimentally generate non-diffracting vector vortex beams by using a Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) and an azimuthal birefringent plate (q-plate). The SLM generates scalar Bessel beams and the q-plate converts them to vector vortex beams. Both single order Bessel beam and superposition cases are studied. The polarization and the azimuthal modes of the generated beams are analyzed. The results of modal decompositions on polarization components are in good agreement with theory. We demonstrate that the generated beams have cylindrical polarization and carry polarization dependent Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM).

A darkness theorem for the beam shape coefficients and its relationship to higher-order non-vortex Bessel beams

Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 2017

Within the framework of generalized Lorenz-Mie theories and other light scattering theories such as the Extended Boundary Condition Method, the illuminating electromagnetic beam is described in terms of beam shape coefficients. We establish a darkness theorem in terms of the shape coefficients, allowing one to establish whether the beam intensity is zero on an axis (i.e. dark) or not. This theorem allows one to predict the existence of higher-order nonvortex Bessel beams. A proposal for similar studies concerning other types of beams is provided, as a possible extension of the present work.

Vector-vortex Bessel–Gauss beams and their tightly focusing properties

Optics Letters, 2011

We demonstrate that the amplitude of vector-vortex beams has a Bessel-Gauss (BG) distribution through a rigorous vector electromagnetic analysis. We also investigate the intensity profiles in the focal plane of vector-vortex beams that are focused by a high numerical-aperture lens obeying the Helmholtz condition. Although the intensity of a vector-vortex BG beam with a topological charge n ¼ 1 is nonzero along the axis in the focal plane, the beams with n ≠ 1 show discrete multiple spots which can be useful for optical trapping.

Vortex Hermite-Gaussian laser beams

Optics letters, 2015

We study elliptical vortex Hermite-Gaussian (vHG) beams, which are described by the complex amplitude proportional to the nth-order Hermite polynomial whose argument is a function of a real parameter a. At |a|<1, on the vertical axis of the beam cross section, there are n isolated optical nulls that produce optical vortices with topological charge +1(a<0) or -1(a>0). At |a|>1, similar isolated optical nulls of the vHG beams are found on the horizontal axis. At a=0, the vHG beam becomes identical to the HG mode of the order (0,n). We derive the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of the vHG beams, which depends on the parameter a and an ellipticity parameter of the Gaussian beam. The derived equation allows the transverse intensity of the vHG-beam to be changed without changing its OAM. The experimental and theoretical results are in good agreement.

Hollow Gaussian beam generation through nonlinear interaction of photons with orbital angular momentum OPEN

Hollow Gaussian beams (HGB) are a special class of doughnut shaped beams that do not carry orbital angular momentum (OAM). Such beams have a wide range of applications in many fields including atomic optics, bio-photonics, atmospheric science, and plasma physics. Till date, these beams have been generated using linear optical elements. Here, we show a new way of generating HGBs by three-wave mixing in a nonlinear crystal. Based on nonlinear interaction of photons having OAM and conservation of OAM in nonlinear processes, we experimentally generated ultrafast HGBs of order as high as 6 and power >180 mW at 355 nm. This generic concept can be extended to any wavelength, timescales (continuous-wave and ultrafast) and any orders. We show that the removal of azimuthal phase of vortices does not produce Gaussian beam. We also propose a new and only method to characterize the order of the HGBs. The dark hollow beams (DHB) are identified with their characteristic doughnut intensity distribution, a dark center enclosed by a bright ring in the beam cross section. Like conventional DHBs such as optical vortices 1 , higher order Bessel 2 and Mathieu 3 beams, HGBs 4,5 also have doughnut intensity profile but do not carry any OAM. In addition to the vast applications ranging from atomic optics to plasma physics 6–15 , HGBs have also attracted a great deal of scientific interest in understanding its propagation and transformation dynamics 5,16,17,18. Generation of HGBs have been realized using linear optical elements in different methods such as spatial filtering 19 , geometrical optics 20 , fibers 21 , spatial-light-modulator 16 , and Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam transformation 22. However, nonlinear generation processes enable HGBs to have a new wavelength across electromagnetic spectrum and also to have high output power and higher order in all timescales as required for most of the applications 6–15. The HGBs have a similar functional form 5 as that of optical vortex beams except the azimuthal phase term exp(-ilθ) where, l is the topological charge or OAM mode of the vortex. Therefore, HGBs can be generated by removing the azimuthal phase term of the vortices 22. However, due to the absence of suitable technique to characterize HGBs in terms of its order, one cannot be sure about the order of the HGB generated in ref. 22. Given that the nonlinear frequency conversion processes 23–25 satisfy OAM conservation 26,27 , one can in principle, remove the azimuthal phase term of the generated beam through annihilation of OAM modes of the interacting beams in three wave-mixing process. As a proof of principle, here we report, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, nonlinear generation of HGBs. Based on sum frequency mixing of two OAM carrying ultrafast beams at 1064 nm and 532 nm having equal OAM orders but of opposite helicity in a nonlinear medium, we have generated HGBs of order as high as 6 and output power as much as 180 mW at 355 nm. It is a generic concept and can be extended to any wavelength and timescale. In addition, by controlling the sign of the helicity of OAM modes one can generate higher order optical vortices at desired wavelengths. We also propose a new and (at present,) only method to characterize the order of HGBs. On contrary to the common belief 28 , the present study show that the removal of azimuthal phase of vortices does not produce Gaussian beam.