Fractional vortex beams (FVBs) with non-integer topological charges attract much attention due to unique features of propagations, but there still exist different viewpoints on the change of their total vortex strength. Here we have experimentally demonstrated the distribution and number of vortices contained in FVBs at Fraunhofer diffraction region. We have verified that the jumps of total vortex strength for FVBs happens only when non-integer topological charge is before and after (but very close to) any even integer number, which originates from two different mechanisms for generation and movement of vortices on focal plane. Meanwhile, we have also measured the beam propagation factor (BPF) of such FVBs, and have found that their BPF values almost increase linearly in one component and oscillate increasingly in another component. Our experimental results are in good agreement with numerical results.PACS numbers:

Beams with optical vortices are widely used in various fields, including optical communication, optical manipulation and trapping, and, especially in recent years, in the processing of nanoscale structures. However, circular vortex beams are difficult to use for the processing of chiral micro and nanostructures. This paper introduces a multiramp helical–conical beam that can produce a three-dimensional spiral light field in a tightly focused system. Using this spiral light beam and the two-photon direct writing technique, micro–nano structures with chiral characteristics in space can be directly written under a single exposure. The fabrication efficiency is more than 20 times higher than the conventional point-by-point writing strategy. The tightly focused properties of the light field were utilized to analyze the field-dependent properties of the micro–nano structure, such as the number of multiramp mixed screw-edge dislocations. Our results enrich the means of two-photon polymerization technology and provide a simple and stable way for the micromachining of chiral microstructures, which may have a wide range of applications in optical tweezers, optical communications, and metasurfaces.

We investigate the self-healing property of focused circular Airy beams (FCAB), and this property is associated with the transverse Poynting vector (energy flow) for a better interpretation. We both experimentally and numerically show the effect of the obstruction’s position, size and shape on the self-healing property of FCAB. It is found that FCAB will heal if the obstruction is placed at the area between the two foci of FCAB, and it has the least influence on the FCAB when the obstruction is placed near the lens’ rear focal plane, whereas FCAB cannot heal if the obstruction is out of the area between two foci. Our experimental results are in good agreement with numerical results.

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