.Optics Communications 161 1999 25–30 Near-field diffraction by a hollow-core optical fiber

The near-field of a hollow-core optical fiber is calculated by means of the Huygens-Fresnel integral and it is shown how the near-field develops into a far-field. The diffracted patterns are experimentally measured by a novel imaging technique, and are in good agreement with the numerical results. A possible application to atom optics is also presented. q 199