Axicon

Diagram of Axicon and resulting Bessel Beam

An axicon is a specialized type of lens that has a conical surface. An axicon transforms a laser beam into a ring shaped distribution.[1] They can be convex or concave and be made of any optical material. The combination with other axicons or lenses allows a wide variety of beam patterns to be generated. It can be used to turn a Gaussian beam into a non-diffractive Bessel-like beam.[2] Axicons were first proposed in 1954 by John McLeod.[3]

Axicons are used in atomic traps and for generating plasma in wakefield accelerators.[4] They are used in eye surgery in cases where a ring-shaped spot is useful.

The Axicon is usually characterized by the ratio of the diameter of the ring to the distance from the lens tip to image plane d/l.

  1. ^ Mallik, Proteep (2005). "The Axicon" (PDF). University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences. Retrieved 12 December 2014.[unreliable source?]
  2. ^ Garcés-Chávez, V.; McGloin, D.; Melville, H.; Sibbett, W.; Dholakia, K. (Sep 12, 2002). "Simultaneous micromanipulation in multiple planes using a self-reconstructing light beam" (PDF). Nature. 419 (6903): 145–7. Bibcode:2002Natur.419..145G. doi:10.1038/nature01007. PMID 12226659. S2CID 4426776. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2006.
  3. ^ McLeod, John H. (1954). "The axicon: A new type of optical element". J. Opt. Soc. Am. 44 (8): 592. Bibcode:1954JOSA...44..592M. doi:10.1364/JOSA.44.000592.
  4. ^ Green, S. Z.; Adli, E.; Clarke, C. I.; Corde, S.; Edstrom, S. A.; Fisher, A. S.; Frederico, J.; Frisch, J. C.; Gessner, S.; Gilevich, S.; Hering, P. (2014-07-22). "Laser ionized preformed plasma at FACET". Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. 56 (8): 084011. Bibcode:2014PPCF...56h4011G. doi:10.1088/0741-3335/56/8/084011. ISSN 0741-3335.