Frozen waves (FWs) are very interesting particular cases of nondiffracting beams whose envelopes are static and whose longitudinal intensity patterns can be chosen a priori. We present here for the first time (that we know of) the experimental generation of FWs. The experimental realization of these FWs was obtained using a holographic setup for the optical reconstruction of computer generated holograms (CGH), based on a 4-f Fourier filtering system and a nematic liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM), where FW CGHs were first computationally implemented, and later electronically implemented, on the LC-SLM for optical reconstruction. The experimental results are in agreement with the corresponding theoretical analytical solutions and hold excellent prospects for implementation in scientific and technological applications.

-In recent times, we experimentally realized a quite efficient modeling of the shape of diffraction-resistant optical beams; thus generating for the first time the so-called Frozen Waves (FW), whose longitudinal intensity pattern can be arbitrarily chosen, within a prefixed space interval of the propagation axis. Such waves possess a host of potential applications: in medicine, biomedical optics, optical tweezers, atom guiding, remote sensing, tractor beams, optical communications or metrology, and other topics in photonic areas. In this work, we extend our theory of FWs -which led to beams endowed with a static envelope-through a dynamic modeling of the FWs, whose shape is now allowed to evolve in time in a predetermined way. And we experimentally create such dynamic FWs in Optics, via a computational holographic technique and a spatial light modulator. Experimental results are here presented for two cases of dynamic FWs, one of the zeroth and the other of higher order, the last one being the most interesting, consisting in a cylindrical surface of light whose geometry changes in space and time.

-In this paper we implement experimentally the spatial shape modelling of nondiffracting optical beams via computer generated holograms on spatial light modulators. The results reported here are the experimental confirmation of the so called Frozen Wave method, developed few years ago. Optical beams of this type can possess potential applications in optical tweezers, medicine, atom guiding, remote sensing, etc..

In this paper, we present the experimental generation of Airy beams via computational and photorefractive holography. Experimental generation of Airy beams using conventional optical components presents several difficulties and are practically infeasible. Thus, the optical generation of Airy beams has been made from the optical reconstruction of a computer generated hologram implemented in a spatial light modulators. In the photorefractive holography technique, being used for the first time to our knowledge, the hologram of an Airy beam is constructed (recorded) and reconstructed (reading) optically in a nonlinear photorefractive medium. The Airy beam experimental realization was made by a setup of computational and photorefractive holography using a photorefractive Bi 12 T iO 20 crystal as holographic recording medium. Airy beams and Airy beam arrays were obtained experimentally as in accordance with the predicted theory; and present excellent prospects for applications in optical trapping and optical communications systems.

No abstract