Abstract
Vector beams (VBs) have spatially inhomogeneous polarization states distribution and have been widely used in many fields. In this paper, we proposed a method to modulate polarization states of higher-order Poincaré (HOP) beams and designed a system based on Mach-Zehnder interferometers, in which polarization state (include azimuth and ellipticity) of generated HOP beams were modulated by linear electro-optic (EO) effect of nonlinear optical crystals. Using this method, the polarization state of generated HOP beams could be controlled by voltage signal applied on EO crystals, which makes the process of the polarization state change with no optical element moving and mechanical vibrations. Besides, due to the flexibility of the voltage signal, the polarization state could be switched directly and immediately.
Highlights
Polarization is an important characteristic of light
While in the indirect means, liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LCSLM) and spiral phase plates (SPP) are usually employed as the vortex generator, and the higher-order Poincaré (HOP) beams could be generated by practical interference of the two eigenstates in Mach-Zehnder [18,19,20], Sagnac[21], or other interferometers [22,23,24]
We proposed a method to modulate the polarization state of generated HOP beams, and design the system based on MachZehnder interferometers
Summary
Vector beams (VBs) with spatially inhomogeneous polarization states distribution have many novel properties [1,2]. This makes VBs were researched and applied in many fields, such as super-resolution imaging [3,4], focus engineering [5,6], particle trapping and manipulations [7,8], laser materials processing [9], data storage [10], optical communication [11]. Driven by the application prospects in these fields, many methods have been proposed to generate VBs, especially higher-order Poincaré (HOP) beams. These methods could be divided into two categories: direct and indirect means. While in the indirect means, liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LCSLM) and spiral phase plates (SPP) are usually employed as the vortex generator, and the HOP beams could be generated by practical interference of the two eigenstates in Mach-Zehnder [18,19,20], Sagnac[21], or other interferometers [22,23,24]
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