Diffraction of a Gaussian beam by a logarithmic axicon

J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 2011 May 1;28(5):844-9. doi: 10.1364/JOSAA.28.000844.

Abstract

We derive an explicit analytical relationship to describe the axial light intensity when a Gaussian beam is diffracted by the logarithmic axicon (LA). An evaluation formula for the effective radius of the diffraction pattern that we deduce shows the said radius to be in inverse proportion to the LA "force" parameter. The finite-difference time-domain-based simulation has shown that using the LA makes it possible to go beyond the diffraction limit: in the LA vicinity, the FWHM of the light beam can be as small as one fifth of the illumination wavelength.