Compact optical module to generate arbitrary vector vortex beams

Abstract

We demonstrated a compact optical module that is capable of efficiently generating vector vortex beams (VVB). With this device, a linearly polarized input beam can be converted into a vector beam with arbitrary spatial polarization and phase distributions, accompanied by an energy utilization up to 61%. Equally important, the area utilization of the spatial light modulator, a key component in the device, is as high as 65.5%. With the designed vector-vortex-beam-generation module, several types of VVBs with different vortex topological charges and spatial polarization distributions were created experimentally. This device may find applications in optical tweezers, laser machining, and so on.