Axicon
Special lens with a conical surface / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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An axicon is a specialized type of lens which 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.