We propose a method to generate a Bessel beam using cross-phase modulation based on the thermal nonlinear optical effect. The thermal nonlinear medium is shown to have the ability to vary a Gaussian beam (probe beam) into a hollow beam when the medium is illuminated with a counter-propagating Gaussian beam (pump beam). It is demonstrated that this method has no restriction to the probe beam wavelength. Moreover, the generated Bessel beam exhibits superior non-diffraction properties during propagation and self-healing after encountering an obstruction on the beam path. The parameters of the beam can be easily adjusted by both the pump beam power and the sample concentration. The merits of variable parameters, no requirement for input beam wavelengths, simple setup, and low-cost would make this method significant in a variety of applications, especially in those areas where the parameters of the Bessel beam need to be easily adjusted without changing the setup.

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We report on the enhancement of phase conjugation degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) in hot atomic Rb vapor by using a Bessel beam as the probe beam. The Bessel beam was generated using cross-phase modulation based on the thermal nonlinear optical effect. Our results demonstrated that the DFWM signal generated by the Bessel beam is about twice as large as that generated by the Gaussian beam, which can be attributed to the extended depth and tight focusing features of the Bessel beam. We also found that a DFWM signal with reasonable intensity can be detected even when the Bessel beam encounters an obstruction on its way, thanks to the selfhealing property of the Bessel beam. This work not only indicates that DFWM using a Bessel beam would be of great potential in the fields of high-fidelity communication, adaptive optics, and so on, but also suggests that a Bessel beam would be of significance to enhance the nonlinear process, especially in thick and scattering media.