Multi-spot focusing by using composite spiral zone plates

We present a flexible, simple, and cost effective approach for generating high-quality multiple focal spots in the far field using composite spiral zone plates (SZPs), which serve as a synthesis of two SZPs with different topological charges. By changing the topological charges of the SZPs can obtain different types of multiple focal spots. The numerical solution, fabrication method, and experimental results are presented to prove the capabilities of this approach.     

Design of projective zone plates and their focusing properties

Transmittances are designed by generation of a family of curves whose local geometry is similar to that of zone plates. The family is obtained by means of projective mapping in the normal direction of an initial curve, so that all the curves of the family have a common evolute. This property allows the prediction of the geometry of the focusing region of the transmittance. Experimental results with an ellipse as the initial curve are shown. We show that the proposed zone plates can be considered a generalization of conventional zone plates.     

Characterization of focusing performance of spiral zone plates with fractal structure

We propose an efficient method of generating a vortex beam with multi-foci by using a fractal spiral zone plate(FSZP), which is designed by combining fractal structure with a spiral zone plate(SZP) in the squared radial coordinate.The theoretical analysis reveals that the number of foci that embed vortices is significantly increased as compared with that obtained by using a conventional SZP. Furthermore, the influence of topological charge on the intensity distribution in focal plane is also discussed in detail. For experimental investigation, an FSZP with topological charge p = 1 and 6.4 mm diameter is fabricated by using a photo-etching technique. The calibration indicates that the focusing performances of such a kind of zone plane(ZP) accord well with simulations, thereby providing its potential applications in multi-dimensional optical manipulation and optical imaging technology.     

Tight focusing of partially polarized vortex beams by binary phase Fresnel zone plates

Based on vectorial Debye theory, the focusing properties of partially polarized vortex beam by high numerical aperture Fresnel zone plate are investigated. The effects of the numerical apertures of and the phase difference of binary phase Fresnel zone plates, the topological charge of vortex beam and the degree of polarization of incident beam on the intensity distribution and degree of coherence in the focal plane are investigated in detail. It is shown that elliptical light spots and the flat top beam can be obtained by selecting certain parameters. Studies of degree of coherence reveal that the degree of coherence between x and y components of the electric field, which is zero in the source plane, is improved in the focal plane for vortex beam, but it is hardly changed for the nonvortex beam. It is also proved that any two of the three electric field components E_x, E_y and E_z are completely coherent everywhere in the focal region if the incident light beam is linearly polarized.     

Fractal zone plates

Fractal zone plates (FZPs), i.e., zone plates with a fractal structure, are described. The focusing properties of this new type of zone plate are compared with those of conventional Fresnel zone plates. It is shown that the axial irradiance exhibited by the FZP has self-similarity properties that can be correlated to those of the diffracting aperture.     

Sliced linear zone plates for hard X-ray radiation

Linear zone plates for hard (E > 10 keV) X rays are considered. The technology of the plates includes cutting magnetron-sputtered W₅Si₃/Si multilayer coatings. The results of numerical computation suggest that this pair of materials provides a high efficiency in the first and second diffraction orders. It is found experimentally that good multilayer structures consisting of several hundreds of layers can be synthesized on silicon and glass substrates. It is shown that they can be cut by ion etching the multilayer coating through a mask.     

Beyond-limit light focusing in the intermediate zone

We experimentally verify that a new nanolens of a designed plasmonic aperture can focus visible light to a single line with its width smaller than the limit of half the wavelength in the intermediate zone. The experimental measurement indicates that while the near field plays a role to increase the spot size in the near zone, it is negligible at the beyond-limit focused region; i.e., the focused light is dominated by the radiative fields. The image taken by the optical microscope shows that the fields focused have propagated to the far zone. Besides being of academic interest, the nanolens capable in achieving a lower diffraction limit in the intermediate zone is important for application possibilities.     

具有准单级聚焦特性的梯形波带片（英）

为改进用于X射线聚焦的二值化Gabor波带片目前所存在的结构复杂、不利于加工制作的问题,在不改变梯形透过率函数的前提下,通过将传统的梯形孔基元变为平行四边形基元应用于波带片的设计之中,提出了一种聚焦效率更高的具有准单级聚焦特性的波带片。理论推导显示,该波带片除了像Fresnel波带片一样能够消除偶数级的焦点外,还可以消除3q级（q为整数）的焦点,1/m4（m为焦点级数）的效率衰减系数也使得高级衍射得到了很好的抑制。MATLAB数值模拟的结果证明,该波带片的特性不仅满足以上推论,还具有比Fresnel波带片和环带扇形基元阵列波带片更低的背景噪声,可以看作是一种准单级聚焦的新型波带片。此外,在同一波带内,这种基于平行四边形基元孔的波带片设计的透光区始终保持各处的径向宽度为该波带的一半,且扇区结构简单一致,能够降低不少加工难度,易于推广应用。     

具有准单级聚焦特性的梯形波带片（英）

为改进用于X射线聚焦的二值化Gabor波带片目前所存在的结构复杂、不利于加工制作的问题,在不改变梯形透过率函数的前提下,通过将传统的梯形孔基元变为平行四边形基元应用于波带片的设计之中,提出了一种聚焦效率更高的具有准单级聚焦特性的波带片。理论推导显示,该波带片除了像Fresnel波带片一样能够消除偶数级的焦点外,还可以消除3q级（q为整数）的焦点,1/m4（m为焦点级数）的效率衰减系数也使得高级衍射得到了很好的抑制。MATLAB数值模拟的结果证明,该波带片的特性不仅满足以上推论,还具有比Fresnel波带片和环带扇形基元阵列波带片更低的背景噪声,可以看作是一种准单级聚焦的新型波带片。此外,在同一波带内,这种基于平行四边形基元孔的波带片设计的透光区始终保持各处的径向宽度为该波带的一半,且扇区结构简单一致,能够降低不少加工难度,易于推广应用。     

Soft-X-ray microscopy using spiral zone plates

Phase sensitive soft-x-ray microscopy methods enable the study of specimens for which phase effects are a prevalent contrast mechanism. One way to detect these phase effects is to optically implement the radial Hilbert transform by using spiral zone plates (SZPs), which results in the isotropic measurement of the amplitude and phase gradient in a sample. Soft-x-ray microscopy using an SZP as a single element objective lens was demonstrated through the imaging of a 1 microm circular aperture at a wavelength of 2.73 nm(454 eV). A regular zone plate, a charge 1 SZP, and a charge 2 SZP were fabricated using electron beam lithography and were used as the imaging optic in the microscopy setup. The charge 1 and charge 2 SZP images exhibited isotropic edge enhancement as a result of radial Hilbert filtering.     

White-light imaging with fractal zone plates

We report the achievement of the first images to our knowledge obtained with a fractal zone plates (FraZPs). FraZPs are diffractive lenses characterized by the fractal structure of their foci. This property predicts an improved performance of FraZPs as image forming devices with an extended depth of field and predicts a reduced chromatic aberration under white-light illumination. These theoretical predictions are confirmed experimentally in this work. We show that the polychromatic modulation transfer function of a FraZP affected by defocus is about two times better than one corresponding to a Fresnel zone plate.     

相位连续变化型太赫兹波带片

通过对太赫兹波段相位连续变化型波带片的系统研究,分析了特征尺寸与焦距、F数、预设频率、材料折射率等设计参数之间的关系,讨论了影响相位连续变化型波带片效率的几个主要因素。选取太赫兹透过率较高的泡沫聚乙烯和高密度聚乙烯材料,提出了设计方案,对所设计的波带片沿光轴方向太赫兹波强度变化以及焦平面太赫兹波强度变化给出了计算机模拟结果,并给出一组不同频率的波带片的特征参数。     

Absolute interferometric test of Fresnel zone plates

An absolute interferometric test of two-level binary Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) is presented. Five measurements with a wavefront testing interferometer are required to fully separate interferometer errors from those of the FZP. The method provides both errors, pattern errors and surface figure errors of the zone plate absolutely. The test method is suitable for zone mirrors and zone lenses. Test setups are explained, equations are derived and experimental results are presented. Further, applications of the absolute diffractive test method are described. For the estimation of the accuracy of the diffractive calibration method a comparison with the classical three-position test was carried out.     

Diffractive performance of square Fresnel zone plates

We analyze the optical behavior of square Fresnel zones plates. A theoretical analysis and numerical simulations based on the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld approach have been developed analyzing properties such as the depth of focus and the intensity of the focus in terms of the number of zones. In addition, an experimental verification has been performed using a Spatial Light Modulator to implement the designed square Fresnel zones plates.     

X射线波带片的制作及其应用

波带片的低衍射效率限制其在可见光波段的使用,可是在Ｘ射线波段,波带片是唯一达到衍射极限的光学元件,因而引起人们的极大兴趣。本文介绍了当前国际上Ｘ射线波带片的主要制作方法及其应用,同时回顾了用于Ｘ射线聚焦、成像的光学元件——Ｘ射线菲涅耳波带片及近几年才出现的布拉格－菲涅耳波带片的历史背景、基本概念和主要类型。     

相位连续变化型太赫兹波带片

通过对太赫兹波段相位连续变化型波带片的系统研究,分析了特征尺寸与焦距、F数、预设频率、材料折射率等设计参数之间的关系,讨论了影响相位连续变化型波带片效率的几个主要因素。选取太赫兹透过率较高的泡沫聚乙烯和高密度聚乙烯材料,提出了设计方案,对所设计的波带片沿光轴方向太赫兹波强度变化以及焦平面太赫兹波强度变化给出了计算机模拟结果,并给出一组不同频率的波带片的特征参数。     

X-ray interferometer based on fresnel zone plates

A new type of X-ray interferometer based on three multilevel zone plates with common lens axis is suggested. Like to well-known triple Laue-case X-ray interferometer this interferometer does not impose strict requirements on the spatial and time coherence of the incident wave and therefore can be used with laboratory X-ray sources. The interferometer has advantages in the area of phase-contrast X-ray imaging connected with the image magnification.     

High efficiency positive and negative phase zone plates

We design a new kind of phase zone plates(PZPs) to improve the diffraction efficiency of soft x ray zone plates(ZPs). The design replaces blank parts of PZPs with metals of negative phase shift at the working energy, which is called as the positive and negative PZPs(PNPZPs). According to the calculation, PNPZPs have a higher maximum efficiency than conventional ZPs with the same zone width. With the help of a negative phase coefficient, it is much easier to achieve a π phase shift in one period, resulting in a smaller zone height. This design can help fabricate finer PZPs to achieve a better image resolution.     

采用阵列波带片波前传感的激光波前重构

 在高功率激光系统，激光束小尺度相位畸变波前探测是实现激光束中频段波前补偿与控制的重要前提。采用阵列菲涅耳波带片作为激光束波前传感的子孔径分割器，利用区域重构的Southwell模型进行波前重构。并针对波前传感器子孔径数目、小尺度相位畸变波前的参数对波前重构精度影响进行分析与模拟计算，给出了阵列菲涅耳波带片合理的子孔径数目，为20×20～30×30；对小尺度相位畸变，激光束波前的重构误差小于十分之一波长。