Abstract

Bessel beams have been shown to be efficient methods of exciting some nonlinear optical interactions.¹⁴־ The reason is that the Bessel beams have an extended longitudinal focal region and a high-intensity on-axis, and all of the rays intersecting the z-axis have the same angle with respect to that axis. A generalization of the Bessel beams, called asymmetric diffractionless beams, is described here and is shown to also exhibit properties that will enhance some nonlinear interactions.

© 1998 Optical Society of America