Abstract

We propose a quasi-parabolic mirror that can produce a long needle of light by focusing a radially polarized annular beam. The quasi-parabolic mirror can be acquired by moving the axis of rotation of a parabolic mirror. Using the extended Richards–Wolf theory for axisymmetric surfaces, we calculated that the needle obtained can have a longitudinal FWHM over hundreds to thousands of wavelengths by keeping the transverse FWHM under $0.36\lambda$. The consistent expression of the approximate relationship between the angular thickness of the incident beam and the longitudinal FWHM based on both geometrical optics and wave optics is presented.

© 2017 Optical Society of America

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