Adaptive micro axicons for laser applications

Abstract

We report on the design, fabrication and testing of novel types of low-dispersion axicons for the adaptive shaping of ultrashort laser pulses. An overview is given on the basic geometries and operating principles of our purely reflective adaptive MEMS-type devices based on thermal or piezoelectric actuation. The flexible formation of nondiffracting beams at pulse durations down to a few oscillations of the optical field enables new applications in optical communication, pulse diagnostics, laser-matter interaction and particle manipulation. As an example, we show first promising results of adaptive autocorrelation. The combination of excellent pulse transfer, self-reconstruction properties and propagation invariance of nondiffracting beams with an adaptive approach promises to extend the field of practical applications significantly.