Generation of thin and hollow beams by the axicon with a large open angle

We propose a method to produce diffraction-free thin and hollow beams. The method is based on Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) beams incident on a large open-angle axicon. We use the vector diffraction integrals and stationary phase method to deduce a simple and analytical formula of the propagating field of the linearly polarized LG beams through an axicon. The numerical results show that the hollow beams of whose diameter is in the order of the wavelength can be obtained by using the axicon with the refractive index n = 2 and the open angle α = 25°. These diffraction-free thin and hollow beams may be very useful to accurately trap and manipulate atoms. However, when the open angle is over large, the conversion efficiency from the LG beam to the diffraction-free hollow beam will decrease obviously.