Tunable self-similar Bessel-like beams of arbitrary order (original) (raw)
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Optics Express, 2015
Bessel beams have been extensive studied to date but are always created over a finite region inside the laboratory. Means to overcome this consider multi-element refractive designs to create beams that have a longitudinal dependent cone angle, thereby allowing for a far greater quasi non-diffracting propagation region. Here we outline a generalized approach for the creation of shape-invariant Bessel-like beams with a single phaseonly element, and demonstrate it experimentally with a phase-only spatial light modulator. Our experimental results are in excellent agreement with theory, suggesting an easy-to-implement approach for long range, shapeinvariant Bessel-like beams.
Bessel-like optical beams with arbitrary trajectories
Optics Letters, 2012
A method is proposed for generating Bessel-like optical beams with arbitrary trajectories in free space. The method involves phase-modulating an optical wavefront so that conical bundles of rays are formed whose apexes write a continuous focal curve with prespecified shape. These ray cones have circular bases on the input plane, thus their interference results in a Bessel-like transverse field profile that propagates along the specified trajectory with a remarkably invariant main lobe. Such beams can be useful as hybrids between nonaccelerating and accelerating optical waves that share diffraction-resisting and self-healing properties.
Shifted nondiffractive Bessel beams
Physical Review A, 2015
Nondiffractive Bessel beams are well known to have infinite energy and infinite orbital angular momentum (OAM). However, when normalized to unity of energy, their OAM is finite. In this work, we derive an analytical relationship for calculating the normalized OAM of the superposition of off-axis Bessel beams characterized by the same topological charge. We show that if the constituent beams of the superposition have real-valued weight coefficients, the total OAM of the superposition of the Bessel beams equals that of an individual nonshifted Bessel beam. This property enables generating nondiffractive beams with different intensity distributions but identical OAM. The superposition of a set of identical Bessel beams centered on an arbitrary-radius circle is shown to be equivalent to an individual constituent Bessel beam put in the circle center. As a result of a complex shift of the Bessel beam, the transverse intensity distribution and OAM of the beam are also shown to change. We show that, in the superposition of two or more complex-shifted Bessel beams, the OAM may remain unchanged, while the intensity distribution is changed. Numerical simulation is in good agreement with theory.
Nonlinear Bessel vortex beams for applications
Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 2015
We investigate experimentally and numerically the nonlinear propagation of intense Bessel-Gauss vortices in transparent solids. We show that nonlinear Bessel-Gauss vortices preserve all properties of nonlinear Bessel-Gauss beams while their helicity provides an additional control parameter for single-shot precision micro structuring of transparent solids. For sufficiently large cone angle, a stable hollow tube of intense light is formed, generating a plasma channel whose radius and density are increasing with helicity and cone angle, respectively. We assess the potential of intense Bessel vortices for applications based on the generation of hollow plasma channels.
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Science Bulletin, 2015
Over the past several years, spatially shaped self-accelerating beams along different trajectories have been studied extensively. Due to their useful properties such as resistance to diffraction, self-healing, and selfbending even in free space, these beams have attracted great attention with many proposed applications. Interestingly, some of these beams could be designed with controllable spatial profiles and thus propagate along various desired trajectories such as parabolic, snake-like, hyperbolic, hyperbolic secant, three-dimensional spiraling, and even self-propelling trajectories. Experimentally, such beams are realized typically by using a spatial light modulator so as to imprint a desired phase distribution on a Gaussian-like input wave front propagating under paraxial or nonparaxial conditions. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of our recent work on specially shaped self-accelerating beams, including Bessel-like, breathing Bessellike, and vortex Bessel-like beams. In addition, we propose and demonstrate a new type of dynamical Bessel-like beams that can exhibit not only self-accelerating but also self-propelling during propagation. Both theoretical and experimental results are presented along with a brief discussion of potential applications.
Nonlinear Bessel vortex beams for applications Nonlinear Bessel vortex beams for applications
Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics
We investigate experimentally and numerically the nonlinear propagation of intense Bessel– Gauss vortices in transparent solids. We show that nonlinear Bessel–Gauss vortices preserve all properties of nonlinear Bessel–Gauss beams while their helicity provides an additional control parameter for single-shot precision micro structuring of transparent solids. For sufficiently large cone angle, a stable hollow tube of intense light is formed, generating a plasma channel whose radius and density are increasing with helicity and cone angle, respectively. We assess the potential of intense Bessel vortices for applications based on the generation of hollow plasma channels.
Free-space realization of tunable pin-like optical vortex beams
Photonics Research, 2021
We demonstrate, both analytically and experimentally, free-space pin-like optical vortex beams (POVBs). Such angular-momentum-carrying beams feature tunable peak intensity and undergo robust antidiffracting propagation, realized by judiciously modulating both the amplitude and the phase profile of a standard laser beam. Specifically, they are generated by superimposing a radially symmetric power-law phase on a helical phase structure, which allows the inclusion of an orbital angular momentum term to the POVBs. During propagation in free space, these POVBs initially exhibit autofocusing dynamics, and subsequently their amplitude patterns morph into a high-order Bessel-like profile characterized by a hollow core and an annular main lobe with a constant or tunable width during propagation. In contrast with numerous previous endeavors on Bessel beams, our work represents the first demonstration of long-distance free-space generation of optical vortex “pins” with their peak intensity evo...
Half-integer order Bessel beams
2014
Optical beams are solutions to the paraxial wave equation (PWE). In this work we report a new, to our knowledge, optical beam. We solve the PWE by using the angular spectrum of plane waves theory in circular cylindrical coordinates. This lead us to solutions expressed in integral form that can be evaluated in closed-form for half-integer order Bessel functions. We show how to implement numerical simulation and how these results are confirmed by experiment. We believe this approach facilitates the analysis and synthesis of generic optical beams. arXiv:1405.7755v2 [physics.optics]
Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision, 2014
We propose a three-parameter family of asymmetric Bessel-Gauss (aBG) beams with integer and fractional orbital angular momentum (OAM). The aBG beams are described by the product of a Gaussian function by the nth-order Bessel function of the first kind of complex argument, having finite energy. The aBG beam's asymmetry degree depends on a real parameter c≥0: at c=0, the aBG beam is coincident with a conventional radially symmetric Bessel-Gauss (BG) beam; with increasing c, the aBG beam acquires a semicrescent shape, then becoming elongated along the y axis and shifting along the x axis for c≫1. In the initial plane, the intensity distribution of the aBG beams has a countable number of isolated optical nulls on the x axis, which result in optical vortices with unit topological charge and opposite signs on the different sides of the origin. As the aBG beam propagates, the vortex centers undergo a nonuniform rotation with the entire beam about the optical axis (c≫1), making a π/4 tu...
Generating and measuring nondiffracting vector Bessel beams
Optics Letters, 2013
Nondiffracting vector Bessel beams are of considerable interest due to their nondiffracting nature and unique high-numerical-aperture focusing properties. Here we demonstrate their creation by a simple procedure requiring only a spatial light modulator and an azimuthally varying birefringent plate, known as a q-plate. We extend our control of both the geometric and dynamic phases to perform a polarization and modal decomposition on the vector field. We study both single-charged Bessel beams as well as superpositions and find good agreement with theory. Since we are able to encode nondiffracting modes with circular polarizations possessing different orbital angular momenta, we suggest these modes will be of interest in optical trapping, microscopy, and optical communication.