Abstract

Since their first implementation into optics by McLeod in 1954 [1], axicons and their generalizations [2,3] have been a subject of continual interest and research. Due to their unique properties to form light distributions with substantially elongated focal depth, axicons allow in practice to overcome the Rayleigh-Abbe condition, which prevents producing deeply focused beams with high transverse resolution. The recent developments and achievements in the field of diffractive and micro-optics reveal new possibilities for axicon applications in the form of flat computer simulated holograms. This broadens the potential usage of the basic axicon principle to real space image formation.

© 1996 IEEE