White Vortex Light Generations With 7OCB Spherulite

A spherulite is a radially symmetric, microscale crystalline aggregate formed by molecular self-assembly, typically exhibiting concentric birefringent textures under polarized light, which is highly sought after for optical applications, especially in structured light generation and modulation. In this work, we exploit the optical properties of spherulites formed by 7OCB molecules. Radially aggregated needle-like 7OCB crystals result in a strong anisotropic transmittance with respect to radial and azimuthal orientations due to scattering loss over a wide range. Thus, polychromatic generation of cylindrical vector optical vortex beams across a broad spectrum from visible to near infrared, as well as a noncoherent white light optical vortex beam, is realized via spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion from the spherulite. This approach opens promising opportunities for employing spherulites in structured-light generation and in the modulation of both polarization and angular momentum.