Practical generation of arbitrary high-order cylindrical vector beams by cascading vortex half-wave plates

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics
• Beam Generation and Manipulation

Background:

• Cylindrical vector (CV) beams possess unique polarization properties crucial for various applications.
• Generating arbitrary high-order CV beams often requires complex optical setups.
• Vortex half-wave plates (VHPs) offer a promising route for manipulating beam polarization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a practical direct-view scheme for generating arbitrary high-order cylindrical vector (HCV) beams.
• To demonstrate the capability of cascading VHPs for precise control over CV beam orders.
• To experimentally validate the generation of a wide spectrum of CV beams, including anti-vortex types.

Main Methods:

• Cascading vortex half-wave plates (VHPs) in specific odd and even number arrangements.
• Utilizing VHPs with specific order numbers (m=1, 3, and 8) for selective beam generation.
• Investigating polarization properties through the measurement of Stokes parameters.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated all 1-12 order CV beams, including high-order anti-vortex CV (ACV) beams.
• Demonstrated that cascading a limited set of VHPs can produce a greatly expanded range of CV beam orders.
• Experimentally confirmed the effective achievement of arbitrary HCV beams using the proposed cascading method.

Conclusions:

• The proposed cascading scheme provides an effective and practical method for generating arbitrary high-order CV beams.
• This technique simplifies the generation of complex vector beams by utilizing a limited set of VHP types.
• The ability to generate a wide range of CV beam orders expands possibilities in optical manipulation and applications.