Abstract
Coherent vector beams with involved states of polarization (SOP) are widespread in the literature, having applications in laser processing, super-resolution imaging and particle trapping. We report novel vector beams obtained by transforming a Gaussian beam passing through a biaxial crystal, by means of the conical refraction phenomenon. We analyze both experimentally and theoretically the SOP of the different vector beams generated and demonstrate that the SOP of the input beam can be used to control both the shape and the SOP of the transformed beam. We also identify polarization singularities of such beams for the first time and demonstrate their control by the SOP of the input beam.
Highlights
The state of polarization (SOP) is one of the fundamental signatures of light fields associated with their vectorial nature
It can be revealed by considering evolution of transverse pattern for Stokes parameters along conical refraction (CR) beam propagation shown in Supplement 3– Supplement 8 for a RHCP and linearly polarized (LP) (Φ = 45◦) Gaussian input beam for ρ0 = 1.50, ρ0 = 0.92 and ρ0 = 0.45
We have determined the Stokes parameters of the CR beam at different transverse planes along the beam propagation direction and we have shown that both the shape and the states of polarization (SOP) of the transformed beams depend on the SOP of the input beam
Summary
The state of polarization (SOP) is one of the fundamental signatures of light fields associated with their vectorial nature. Coherent light beams are homogeneously polarized, i.e. the SOP is identical for all points at any transverse plane along the beam propagation. The non-homogeneous polarization distribution of vector beams can lead to singular points where the SOP is exactly circular (C points), lines along which the SOP is linear (L lines) or disclinations where the instantaneous electric field is null [5,6,7,8,9,10]. We characterize these vector beams by measuring their Stokes parameters and propose methods to manipulate them as, for
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