Single-hologram generation of vector beams using a digital micromirror device

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Quantum Optics
• Laser Physics

Background:

• Vector beams, characterized by spatially varying polarization, are crucial for advanced optical applications.
• Generating complex vector beams with independent control over phase and polarization has been challenging.
• Existing methods often require multiple optical elements or complex setups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a simple, effective, and adaptable method for generating diverse vector beams.
• To experimentally realize vector Mathieu-Gauss (vMG) beams for the first time.
• To demonstrate independent control over the phase and polarization of light fields.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a single binary hologram on a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD).
• Employing two orthogonally polarized beams with complex conjugate amplitudes.
• Characterizing generated beams via intensity measurements and Stokes polarimetry.

Main Results:

• Successful generation of various vector beams, including vector Laguerre-Gauss (vLG) and vector Bessel-Gauss (vBG).
• Experimental realization of vector Mathieu-Gauss (vMG) beams.
• Excellent agreement between experimental results and simulations, confirming high-quality beam generation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method provides a compact, cost-effective, and versatile approach for producing high-quality vector beams.
• Independent control over phase and polarization structures is achieved.
• The technique is suitable for a wide range of applications in beam shaping and structured light generation.