Generation of droplet quasi-Bessel beams using a semiconductor laser

A method for generation of droplet quasi-Bessel beams using a conical lens with a rounded tip is demonstrated. The study of the longitudinal distribution of the intensity of the obtained quasi-Bessel beam showed that, due to the interference of two wavefronts that occurred as the generating beam passed through the rounded axicon, periodical intensity pulsations that looked like “drops” of light occurred in the resulting beam. These light beams can be used for micromanipulation of biological objects and in super-resolution microscopy. The application of an axicon with a rounded tip for generation of a droplet beam allows considerable simplification and miniaturization of the experimental setup, which paves the way for multiple practical applications.