Introduction

The invention concerns a method for forming a quasi-Bessel beam pattern with a single, flat, light-weight optical element. This optical system relies on a spatial correction of the phase of light to generate a series of quasi- non-diffractive beams. Each beam can be produced with properties independent of the others and at arbitrary positions.

Technical features

Current configurations of BB generators have some limitations exceeded by the current method, which is capable of generating Bessel beam gratings according to a desired geometry with a single optical element. The invention presents a flat wave beam as an input and a surface capable of shaping that beam to render a quasi-Bessel beam grating as an output.
Furthermore, it allows a number of beams to be produced which would be independent from the numerical aperture of the individual beam. Finally, each beam in the reticle can be generated with independent geometrical properties (focal and transverse position and longitudinal and transverse width). The discovery opens up new perspectives in applications (e.g. materials processing, telecommunications) that require the use of structured light with multiple beams with greater depth of focus and reduced beam width compared to solutions based on conventional optics. TRL 4

 

 

Possible Applications

• High-content, high-throughput in vivo drug screening systems;
• Light-based particle sorters;
• Multibeam scanning electron microscopy systems;
• Parallel lithography systems;
• Fluorescence imaging systems.

Advantages

• De-coupling of depth of focus from transversal extension;
• Possibility of integrating all optical manipulations in a single element;
• Possibility of producing a reticulation of Bessel beams without structuring or masking of incoming light.