Collimator based on a lens with an annular aperture and an axicon

Khanenko Y.V., Skidanov, R.V., Pronin I.S., Podtikhova S.S., Uspleniev G.V.

For Russian citation (Opticheskii Zhurnal):

Ханенко Ю.В., Скиданов Р.В., Пронин И.С., Подтихова С.С., Успленьев Г.В. Коллиматор на основе линзы с кольцевой апертурой и аксикона // Оптический журнал. 2026. Т. 93. № 10. С. 22–30. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2026-93-10-22-30

Khanenko Yu.V., Skidanov R.V., Pronin I.S., Podtikhova S.S., Uspleniev G.V. Collimator based on a lens with an annular aperture and an axicon [in Russian] // Opticheskii Journal. 2026. V. 93. № 10. P. 22–30. http://doi.org/10.17586/1023-5086-2026-93-10-22-30

For citation (Journal of Optical Technology):

Abstract:

The subject of the study. The possibility of collimating laser radiation based on two diffractive optical elements is considered: a binary diffractive axicon and a ring diffractive lens. The aim of the work is to reduce the divergence of the laser beam and decrease the dimensions of the collimator to sizes sufficient for use on CubeSat satellites. Method. An experiment was conducted on collimation of a light beam based on a system with a large number of internal reflections to reduce the longitudinal dimensions of the collimator. The main results. The developed collimator made it possible to reduce the divergence of the laser beam by 3–5 times in comparison with traditional collimators based on refractive elements. The size of the collimator was reduced by 3–7 times in comparison with other collimators with the same focal length. Practical significance. The obtained results give hope for the use of optical communication systems in small CubeSat-format spacecraft with dimensions of 3U and larger.

Keywords:

collimation, laser beam, inter-satellite communication, diffractive optical elements

Acknowledgements:

the work was carried out within of the state assignment of the NRC «Kurchatov Institute» in terms of the theoretical calculation of the optical circuit and the manufacture of diffractive optical elements, and the work was carried out with the financial support of the NTI Foundation under contract № 70-2025-000804 dated 05/26/2025 in terms of experimental research

OCIS codes: 080.0080, 050.0050

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