2544 Vol. 34, No.

12 / December 2017 / Journal of the Optical Society of America B Research Article

Generation of azimuthally modulated circular

superlinear Airy beams
ALEXEY P. PORFIREV1,2,* AND SVETLANA N. KHONINA1,2
1
Samara National Research University, Samara, Russia
2
Image Processing Systems InstituteBranch of the Federal Scientific Research Centre Crystallography and Photonics
of Russian Academy of Sciences, Samara, Russia
*Corresponding author: lporfirev@rambler.ru

Received 14 July 2017; revised 8 October 2017; accepted 25 October 2017; posted 25 October 2017 (Doc. ID 302466); published 14 November 2017

We demonstrate a new type of circular Airy beam, the azimuthally modulated circular superlinear Airy beam,
generated by utilizing a diffraction element, whose transmission function is the sum of the transmission function
of the element, generating a petal pattern and the transmission function of the element generating a circular
Airy beam. We investigate the propagation dynamics of such beams and demonstrate that their autofocusing and
self-healing properties are strongly dependent on the number of generated petals. In addition, we propose a
simple way to control the shape of the caustic of the generated laser beams with a fixed number of generated
petals. We believe that these results can be very useful for lensless laser fabrication and laser manipulation tech-
niques, as well as for the development of new filament plasma multi-channel formation methods. 2017 Optical
Society of America

OCIS codes: (140.3300) Laser beam shaping; (050.1970) Diffractive optics; (350.5500) Propagation.

https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.34.002544

1. INTRODUCTION laser beams with azimuthal periodicity is the petal pattern

Airy beams were first demonstrated experimentally in 2007 [1]
and have many applications in optical manipulation [25], op-
tical microscopy [68], ultrafast laser processing [911], plasma
physics [12,13], and optical routing [14], which are made pos-
sible by their unique properties including being diffraction-free,
self-healing, and propagating along accelerating trajectories.
Later, it was shown that combining elements that generate vari-
ous so-called structured laser beams (for example, optical
vortices) with elements generating Airy beams is an efficient
way to shape novel types of structured laser beams with proper-
ties that are not typical for these beams but that are inherent to
Airy beams. This technique made it possible to experimentally
generate optical vortices carried by the Airy beams [15], spiral
autofocusing Airy beams [16], optical vortices propagating
along curved trajectories [17], polarization-controllable Airy
beams [18], and vector autofocusing Airy beams [19,20].
Circular Airy vortex beams (CAVBs) carrying orbital angular
momentum (OAM) and having autofocusing and self-healing
properties are now of great interest [2124]. CAVBs have a
transverse intensity distribution that is non-uniform in the ra-
dial direction, but uniform in the azimuthal one. At the same
time, the generation of CAVBs with the azimuthal periodicity
of the intensity distribution is important for such fields as ultra-
fast laser fabrication [25], filament generation [26], and optical
manipulation [27]. One of the most striking examples of
(see Fig. 1), which can be described as a superposition of two
vortex beams [28]:
1
E
r; ; z  LGl
r; ; zexp
il   exp
il 
2
 LGl
r; ; z cos
l ; (1)
where (r, , z) are cylindrical coordinates, l is a topological
charge of optical vortex, and LGl
r; ; z) is an OAM-
carrying LaguerreGaussian mode of azimuthal order l. A dif-
fraction element with a pure phase transmission function
argfsigncos
l g can be used to generate such a light field dis-
tribution. One of the main advantages of these beams is the
dependence of the depth of focus on the number of the formed
petals, which allows, for example, one to reduce the require-
ments for accuracy of focusing when using the laser beams in
laser ablation systems.
In this paper, we demonstrate a method of generating
azimuthally modulated circular superlinear Airy beams
(AMCSABs), and then numerically and experimentally inves-
tigate the properties of the generated beams, including autofo-
cusing and self-healing. In addition, we demonstrate that the
autofocusing properties of such laser beams are strongly depen-
dent on the number of generated petals. We believe that these
results can be very useful for lensless laser fabrication and laser

0740-3224/17/122544-06 Journal 2017 Optical Society of America

 Research Article Vol. 34, No. 12 / December 2017 / Journal of the Optical Society of America B 2545

radial symmetry of the field described by Eq. (3), its propaga-

tion in free space can be described by the following equation:

Z

ik ik 2 ik 2
E
; z  exp F
r exp r rdr
2z 2z 0 2z
Z 2  
ik
exp r cos
 d; (5)
0 z
where is the radial coordinate and z is the propagation
distance.
The integral over in Eq. (5) can be taken analytically and
is equal to Bessel function 2J 0
krz, but in this case, it is
difficult to analyze the integral over r. Therefore, we consider
the integral over the polar angle on the basis of the stationary
Fig. 1. (a) Transmission functions of the elements generating a
CAB, a petal pattern, and AMCSAB. (b) Longitudinal intensity
phase method. Taking into account the presence of two station-
distributions of the generated beams. ary points, we obtain
Z 2  
ik
exp r cos
 d
0 z
manipulation techniques, as well as for the development of new r 
 

2z kr kr
filament plasma multi-channel formation methods. exp i  exp i :
kr z 4 z 4
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND (6)
The complex amplitude of an AMCSAB is described by the Taking into account that the main contribution is made by
following expression: the second term, we will further calculate using the following


 equation:
r0 r n r
F A
r;   Ai cos
l ; (2)

s
circ
w R

k ik 2
where Ai
r is the Airy function, r 0 is the initial radius of the E
; z i exp i exp
4 2z 2z
main Airy ring, n is the power order, w is the scaled parameter, Z


R is the radius of element generating the beam, and 2l is the ik 2 ik p
F
r exp r exp r r dr: (7)
number of generated petals. 0 2z z
Since the Airy function Ai
r is infinitely extended, it should
be truncated to become physically realizable. As an alternative For the integral in Eq. (7), the stationary phase method
to exponential [1] or Gaussian [29] amplitude apodization, we can also be used and the equation of focal lines (caustics) is
apply a circular aperture of radius R, circ
rR, to truncate the as follows:
infinite Airy function in the cases of its near-zero values for

z  r 0 
q 2
q 1
q1 k1
k0 q z
q2 :
1
(8)
the positive arguments and its n-th zero point for the negative
arguments [22]. The situation in which 1 < q < 2 was considered in detail
In contrast to previously considered abruptly autofocusing in Ref. [32]. In this case, to achieve the effect of abrupt auto-
beams on the basis of Airy functions [3032], superlinear focusing, it is necessary to perform a radial displacement
(n > 1) dependence of the Airy function on the radius follows (r 0 r), that is, the condition r 0 > 0 is mandatory.
from Eq. (2). The distance at which focusing will occur can be estimated
To analyze the autofocusing properties of circular superlin- using the following equation:
ear Airy beams at l  0, the following approximation can be

used instead of Eq. (2): 1 r 0 2q 1
z max  ; 1 < q < 2:

q 1
q1 2 q q0
k0 q1
expi
k0
r 0 rq ; r 0 < r < R  r 0 ;
F
r  (3) (9)
1; 0 r r0;
where k  2 is the wavenumber, is the wavelength of It is obvious that at r 0  0 the maximum intensity value is
illuminating radiation, and 0 is the parameter corresponding near the input plane.
to the numerical aperture. This approach is similar to that In this paper we consider the situation of q > 2: in this case
previously discussed in Ref. [32], where for 1 < q < 2 the the stationary point exists even for r 0  0. However, the focal
following function was investigated: lines described by Eq. (8) have a form similar to a hyperbola
 and do not theoretically intersect the optical axis. As the value
sin
k0
r 0 rq ; r 0 < r < R  r 0 ; of q increases, the focal lines approach the optical axis more
F s
r  (4)
0; 0 r r 0: slowly. However, at some distance, focus on the optical axis will
Now, we consider not only the pure phase version of still abruptly arise. To consider the situation on the optical axis,
Eq. (4) but also the case of q > 2. Taking into account the we can explicitly substitute  0 in Eq. (5):
 2546 Vol. 34, No. 12 / December 2017 / Journal of the Optical Society of America B Research Article

Z

ik ik 2 The results of the numerical and experimental investigation
E
 0; z  F
r exp r rdr: (10)
z 0 2z of the propagation of the 4-petal AMCSAB beam in the free
space are shown in Fig. 3. The numerical results were obtained
Applying the stationary phase method and using Eqs. (10)
by calculating the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld integral:
and (3) at r 0  0, we then obtain intensity on the optical axis
[33,34]: ZZ

1 exp
ikR 1
2 1 1 U
x; y; z  U 0
u; ; 0 ik dud;
jE
0; zj2 q 2
q2 : (11) 2 S R2 R
q 2
q0  q
q2

kz
(13)
Equation (11) is valid for any q > 0. For 0 < q < 2,
intensity on the axis increases along with increasing distance where R  
u x2 
y2  z 2 12 is the distance be-
[particularly for q  32jE
0; zj2
kz3 ] up to the corre- tween the points on the input and output planes, and S is the
sponding rays coming from the optical member edge [34]. region of the input plane in which the initial field is given.
For q > 2, on the contrary, there is a shadow segment on Some discrepancies between the theoretical and the numerical
the axis, followed by a sharp jump in intensity, which results are due to aberrations that arise because the angle of
decreases with increasing distance [particularly for q  incidence of the laser beam at the modulator display is not 0
3jE
0; zj2
kz3 ] [33]. Thus, there are two caustics for (approximately 8 deg).
q > 2: one is determined by Eq. (8), and the second is on As the value of n grows from 1 to 3, the shape of the caustic
the optical axis; therefore, the dependence of intensity on of the generated AMCSAB changes: the larger n, the faster the
the distance is described by Eq. (11). In this case, the focus beam focuses. Thus, the parameter n for AMCSABs possess-
arises abruptly at a distance approximately equal (at r 0  0): ing the autofocusing property (like traditional CABs) is analo-
gous to the numerical aperture in optical focusing systems.
2
q2q R
z max  ; q > 0: (12) Such lens-free controllable autofocusing can be useful for creat-
q0 k0
R r 0 q1 ing particle chains for laser manipulation, filament plasma
It is seen from Eq. (12) that for fixed beam parameters channel generation, and controlled laser ablation.
(k, 0 , R) with an increasing value of q, the focus is formed An interesting result is obtained when the number of the
closer to the input plane. At l > 0, there is null intensity generated petals, 2l , varies and the value of n is kept constant.
on the optical axis, but the character determined by
Eq. (12) is preserved; that is, the most compact intensity dis-
tribution will be at a distance defined by Eq. (12).

3. RESULTS
To generate AMCSABs, we propose to utilize a diffraction
element whose transmission function is the sum of the trans-
mission function of the element generating a petal pattern
and the transmission function of the element generating a cir-
cular Airy beam (CAB) (see Fig. 1).
The experimental setup used to generate and analyze
AMCSABs is shown in Fig. 2. The output laser beam from a
solid-state laser (  532 nm) was collimated with a system
consisting of the micro-objective MO (20, NA  0.4), pin-
hole PH (aperture size of 40 m), and a lens L1 . A spatial light
modulator SLM (HOLOEYE Photonics AG, PLUTO-VIS)
was used to implement phase patterns of elements generating
AMCSAB with a certain number of petals. Then, the lenses L2
and L3 and the diaphragm D were used to perform spatial
filtering of the generated AMCSAB. The resultant intensity
distributions at different distances from the plane, z  0, were
captured by a CCD video-camera mounted on an optical rail.

Fig. 3. Numerically and experimentally obtained intensity profiles

of 4-petal AMCSABs for different values of the parameter n: (a) n  1,
(b) n  2, and (c) n  3. Longitudinal profiles are cross-sections
along the vertical axis. Dotted white lines represent the caustic
Fig. 2. Experimental setup to generate and analyze AMCSABs. trajectory.
 Research Article Vol. 34, No. 12 / December 2017 / Journal of the Optical Society of America B 2547

Fig. 4. Numerically and experimentally obtained intensity profiles of (a) 2-petal, (b) 4-petal, (c) 6-petal, (d) 8-petal, (e) 10-petal, and (f ) 20-petal
AMCSABs with a constant value of n  1. Longitudinal profiles are cross-sections along the vertical axis.

The numerical and experimental results for n  1 when the the parameter n after passing through the light-absorbing
number of petals varies from 2 to 20 is shown in Fig. 4. As obstacle are shown in Fig. 6. As noted above, the parameter
noted above, the petal patterns are the superpositions of n is responsible for the speed of the autofocusing. It can
two vortex beams. It is well known that vortex beams have zero be seen that as the parameter n increases, the distance necessary
intensity on the axis; therefore, in contrast to the previously
considered CABs obtained from Eq. (2) when n  1 and
l  0, the AMCSABs do not focus on a point on the axis.
In addition, from the presented results, dependence inherent
to vortex beams is observed: as the order of the optical vortex
increases, the radius of the dark region on the optical axis also
increases. An increase in the number of generated petals leads to
a change in the shape of the caustic of the generated AMCSAB,
that is, the caustic line gradually straightens. At a certain value
of 2l, it can be said that AMCSABs lose autofocusing proper-
ties, for example, when 2l  40 [see Fig. 5(a)]. However,
increasing parameter n to 2 allows this property to return to
AMCSABs [see Fig. 5(b)]. In addition, when propagating in
space, AMCSABs demonstrate the presence of properties
inherent to petals pattern laser beams: with an increase in
the number of petals, the ellipticity of an individual light petal
increases, and the full width at half maximum of each petal
is reduced.
Finally, we investigated the self-healing properties of
AMCSABs. A light-absorbing object with a transverse dimen- Fig. 5. Numerically and experimentally obtained intensity profiles
sion of approximately 800 m was utilized as an obstacle. of 40-petal AMCSABs for different values of the parameter n:
Depending on the number of the generated petals, this object (a) n  1 and (b) n  2. Longitudinal profiles are cross-sections along
overlapped with either a portion of one petal, or several petals. the vertical axis. Dotted black lines represent the caustic
The 4-petal laser beam intensity profiles for different values of trajectory.
 2548 Vol. 34, No. 12 / December 2017 / Journal of the Optical Society of America B
Fig. 6. Experimentally obtained intensity profiles of a 4-petal
AMCSAB after passing through the light-absorbing obstacle for
different values of the parameter n: (a) n  1, (b) n  2, and
(c) n  3. Longitudinal profiles are cross-sections along the vertical
axis.
to reconstruct the AMCSAB decreases. If we assume that the
AMCSAB is completely reconstructed when the intensities of
all four petals equalize, then for the case n  1, this occurs at a
distance of approximately 570 mm, for n  2 at approximately
490 mm, and for n  3 at approximately 470 mm.
The 2-, 4-, and 8-petal AMCSAB intensity distributions
with the parameter n  1 are shown in Fig. 7. It is evident
that AMCSABs with a larger number of petals are recon-
structed faster than the beams with a smaller one. So, when
the number of the petals equal to 2, the beam is completely
reconstructed at approximately 700 mm. With an increase
in the number of the generated petals to 4, this distance de-
creases to approximately 570 mm, and for the 8-petal beam
it increases to approximately 540 mm. Thus, like autofocusing,
the AMCSAB self-healing property depends on the number of
generated petals. Energy losses depend on the number of petals,
since in the case of a larger number of petals, there are more
regions of null intensity between the peaks in which the
energy is zero. Thus, a beam with a smaller number of petals
is distorted more severely. This can be explained by the fact
that as the number of petals increases, the energy attributable
to a particular petal becomes smaller. Therefore, for the
reconstruction of the AMCSAB profile, it is necessary to elimi-
nate a smaller difference in intensities between distorted and
undistorted petals, for which the laser beam needs to propagate
a shorter distance.
Research Article
Fig. 7. Experimentally obtained intensity profiles of (a) 2-petal,
(b) 4-petal, and (c) 8-petal AMCSABs with a constant value of n  1
after passing through the light-absorbing obstacle. Longitudinal
profiles are cross-sections along the vertical axis.
4. CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, we proposed a new type of CAB, so-called
azimuthal modulated circular superlinear Airy beams. These
beams demonstrate properties inherent to traditional CABs
(such as autofocusing and self-healing), and they also provide
the possibility of implementing controllable autofocusing,
which can be useful in the field of lensless laser patterning
of various nanoplasmonic films for surface-enhanced spectros-
copy, sensing and light control [35], optical manipulation with
extended working distance and lower spherical aberrations
[36], and light-sheet microscopy [7]. In addition, we demon-
strated the dependence of the self-healing and autofocusing
properties of AMCSABs on the number of the generated petals,
which has applications in the field of plasma physics for
controllable generating multiple filament plasma channels.
The experimental results are in good agreement with the
numerical simulation.
Funding. Russian Science Foundation (RSF) (17-
12-01258).
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