2019/05/15 by Norbert Lindlein, Lindlein, Norbert, Markus Sondermann +9 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Optics (physics.optics) #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics #Quantum optics and atomic interactions
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1905.05997
openalex publication_date 2019/05/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The smallest possible focus is achieved when the focused wave front is the time reversed copy of the light wave packet emitted from a point in space (S. Quabis et al., Opt. Commun. 179 (2000) 1-7). The best physical implementation of such a pointlike sub-wavelength emitter is a single atom performing an electric dipole transition. In a former paper (N. Lindlein et al., Laser Phys. 17 (2007) 927-934) we showed how such a dipole-like radiant intensity distribution can be produced with the help of a deep parabolic mirror and appropriate shaping of the intensity of the radially polarized incident plane wave. Such a dipole wave only mimics the far field of a linear dipole and not the near field components. Therefore, in this paper, the electric energy density in the focus of a parabolic mirror is calculated using the Debye integral method. Additionally, a comparison with "conventional nearly 4pi" illumination using two high numerical aperture objectives is performed. The influence of aberrations due to a misalignment of the incident plane wave is discussed.