title: Diffraction-limited dark laser spot produced by a hollow optical fiber.
abstract: By using the diffracted field of the LP(11) mode of a hollow-core optical fiber, we have produced a micrometer-sized, focused dark laser spot in the near field of the fiber. The minimum half-width of the dark spot is less than 1 mum . In particular, by masking the hollow core and metal coating the cladding with a microsphere, we blocked the light propagating in the cladding and obtained a clean dark spot, which may be useful in atom-optical experiments such as with atomic lenses, atom traps, and atom switches.
authors.forename: Y I
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jhe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: U C
authors.initials: UC
authors.lastname: Paek