Burvall Anna, Kołacz Katarzyna, Goncharov Alexander V, Jaroszewicz Zbigniew, Dainty Christopher
Department of Experimental Physics, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
Appl Opt. 2007 Jan 20;46(3):312-8. doi: 10.1364/ao.46.000312.
Lens axicons, i.e., lenses or lens systems designed to work like axicons, can be a simple and inexpensive way of generating the characteristic axicon focal line. In the design of most lens axicons, only on-axis properties have been considered. We present the design of a lens axicon with improved off-axis characteristics. It is constructed from a singlet lens but with a double-pass feature that allows for a line of uniform width and a stop positioned to minimize aberrations. We perform off-axis analysis and experiments for this system and for another lens axicon, one designed for its on-axis characteristics. We conclude that the off-axis performance of the double-pass axicon is better than both that of an ordinary cone axicon and that of the other lens axicon.
