Tunable apodizers and tunable focalizers using helical pairs

Abstract

Abstract-We unveil the use of two helically distributed amplitude masks for controlling the damping coefficient of Gaussian-like windows. We show that by introducing an in-plane rotation between the members of the proposed pair, one eliminates the polar dependence of the masks. Then, one can tune the half-width of radial Gaussian-like apodizers. In a similar manner, we show that if one uses two helically distributed refractive elements, as a pair, then one can control the maximum value of the optical path difference; which is useful for tuning several radial focalizers. © 2013 PhotonicsSociety of Poland.