title: Generation of nondiffracting Bessel beams by use of a spatial light modulator.
abstract: A laser beam with phase singularities is an interesting object to study in optics and may have important applications in guiding atoms and molecules. We explore the characteristics of a singularity in a nondiffracting Bessel beam experimentally by use of a programmable spatial light modulator with 64-level phase holograms. The diffraction efficiency with 64-level phase holograms is greatly improved in comparison with that obtained with a binary grating. The experiments show that the size and deflection angle of the beam can be controlled in real time. The observations are in agreement with scalar diffraction theory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Narupon
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chattrapiban
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cofield
authors.forename: Wendell T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Rajarshi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roy