Uniformization of the axial intensity of diffraction axicons by polychromatic illumination.

The axial intensity of axicons illuminated by a coherent wave usually exhibits rapid oscillations from diffraction on the sharp edges of the aperture of the element. These oscillations can be suppressed when the diffractive version of the axicon is illuminated from a polychromatic source. This possibility is examined based on the example of the annular-aperture logarithmic axicon. The estimate for the wavelength interval of the illuminating source required for uniformization is obtained with the help of the stationary-phase method. Furthermore the shape of the radial intensity distribution can be maintained almost unchanged. These findings are confirmed by numerical evaluation of the Fresnel diffraction integral.