Experimental generation of partially coherent circular Airy beams

Abstract Partially coherent circular Airy beams (CABs) are generated for the first time and their characteristics are investigated experimentally. Compared with the coherent CAB, the intensity of the partially coherent CAB before autofocusing decreases with propagation. This feature is beneficial for the application of the beam in biomedical nursing for further reducing the damage to cells. In addition, autofocusing intensity and focus size of the partially coherent CAB can be controlled by corresponding beam parameters and coherent width, which means that the strength and size of optical tweezers can be controlled with this beam. Our experimental results shed a light on the research and applications of partially coherent CAB in optical trapping and manipulating.