The profile of a Bessel beam
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The profile of a Bessel beam

by Jim Walker, University fo Bristol, Bristol, UK

This is the profile of a Bessel beam which we use to trap and probe single aerosol droplets.

The beam consists of a central core surrounded by a series of concentric rings, and is formed when a gaussian laser beam propagates through a conical lens (an axicon).

This Bessel beam propagates vertically and aerosol droplets are trapped in the central core. The vertical position of the droplet can be manipulted by changing the laser power.