Efficient formation of nondiffracting beams with uniform intensity along the propagation direction

Abstract A technique for forming nondiffracting beams having essentially constant intensity along the propagation direction is presented. In this technique two phase-only holographic elements are exploited to form the nondiffractive beam as well as to obtain a high diffraction efficiency. The elements were designed and formed as computer generated holograms, and the combination was tested experimentally, showing a good agreement with the predicted behavior.