ITERATIVE OPTIMIZATION APPROACH FOR DESIGNING AN AXICON WITH LONG FOCAL DEPTH AND HIGH TRANSVERSE RESOLUTION

An iterative optimization approach for designing the phase of the unif orm-intensity axicon is presented that is based on the general theory of amplitude-phase retrieval in optical systems. We extend previous th eoretical formulas to deal with the linear imaging system with multipl e output planes. We carry out numerical simulation calculations for de signing the axicon for cases of both uniform and Gaussian beam illumin ations. The numerical results are in good agreement with the desired p erformance of the axicon, for instance, with considerable uniformity a nd smoothness of the on-axis intensity and energy flow as well as with high lateral resolution. The influence of phase quantization on the d esigned result is also investigated. (C) 1996 Optical Society of Ameri ca