Nontrivial beam modulation with polarization gratings

We underline some of the general properties of polarization gratings, discuss their effect on partially coherent and partially polarized light, and discuss how they can be used to produce exotic polarization states. Specifically, we highlight a particular instability in the modulation of linearly polarized input fields, leading to the formation of spatially variant polarization states. In addition, we introduce what we believe to be a new model field called full Poincaré pulse. Our results provide flexibility for generating complex polarization structures from simple input, with potential applications in structured light and polarization-dependent systems.