Engineering a better light sheet in an axicon‐based system using a flattened Gaussian beam of low order

Abstract

Lasers are fundamental tools in research and development. The shape of an incident laser beam directly affects the results, when it propagates through complex structured meso‐aspheric optical elements. In conic‐based systems utilizing elements such as axicons, the impact of secondary lobes is mostly overlooked, although the intensity distributions at the central spot and the side‐lobes directly affect the beam properties. We investigate the interaction of two axicons (160° and 170°) with incident beams approximated by Gaussian, high‐order Flattened‐Gaussian, and low‐order Flattened‐Gaussian functions. We demonstrate that replacing an incident Gaussian beam with a low‐order Flattened‐Gaussian beam reduces the secondary lobes and significantly improves the uniformity of the intensity profile. We practically applied this effect in engineering a conic‐aspheric‐based static light‐sheet microscope producing markedly improved results.

Tight focusing of azimuthally polarized Laguerre–Gaussian vortex beams by diffractive axicons

“…Axicons have garnered significant interest in recent years due to their versatility in generating a wide range of beam shapes in the focal region [1][2][3][4]. Linear or classical axicons, which exhibit a linearly increasing on-axis intensity along the optical axis, have proven effective for creating non-diffracting Bessel beams [1,5] and producing diverse focal shapes, including double focal spots [3], flat-topped beams [6], three-dimensional dark spots [7], thin light sheet [8], and very tight focus [9,10]. As a result, linear axicons have found applications in long-range alignment [11], laser machining [12], Bose-Einstein condensates [13], and particle manipulation [14].…”

Intensity distribution of the partially coherent Gaussian Schell vortex beam diffracted by classical axicon

“…Axicons have attracted increasing attention because of their diversity and utility in generating various significant beam shapes within the focal region [1][2][3][4]. The classical axicon, characterized by an on-axis intensity linearly increasing along the optical axis, has been employed for the creation of non-diffracting Bessel beams [5], as well as for producing diverse focal shapes, such as hollow laser beams [6], double focal spots [4], thin-sheet lights [7], tight focal spot sizes [2], flat-topped beams [8], and three-dimensional dark spots [9]. As a result, the linear axicon has been recognized as a crucial optical component in long-range alignment [10], laser machining [11], Bose-Einstein condensates [12], and particle manipulation [13].…”