Generating super-Gaussian light needle of 0.36λ beam size and pure longitudinal polarization

Abstract

Through modulating the Bessel-Gaussian radially polarized vector beam by the cosine synthesized filter under a reflection paraboloid mirror system with maximum focusing semi-angle of π/2, arbitrary-length super-Gaussian optical needles are created with consistent beam size of 0.36λ (full width at half maximum) and the electric field being pure longitudinally polarized (polarization conversion efficiency greater than 99%). Numerical calculations show that the on-axis intensity distributions are super-Gaussian, and the peak-valley intensity fluctuations are all within 1% for 4λ, 6λ, 8λ, and 10λ long light needles. The method remarkably improves the nondiffraction beam quality, compared with the subwavelength Gaussian light needle, which is generated by a narrow-width annular paraboloid mirror. Such a light beam may suit potential applications in particle acceleration, optical trapping, and microscopy. © The Authors.