Formation of higher-order Bessel light beams in biaxial crystals

A transformation of the order of a Bessel light beam (BLB) from zeroth to first and from first to second when bi ty of the propagating light through a biaxial crystal has been studied theoretically and experimentally. The possibility of the formation of higher-order BLBs by means of this effect is confirmed. The transformation of beam order is observed when propagating circularly polarized light along the optical axis of the crystal under conditions of internal conical refraction, It is shown that a proper choice of the crystal length or conicity angle of the incident beam permits complete transformation of a zero-order Bessel input beam into a first-order Bessel beam, (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.