Tight focusing of the vector optical field with polarization varying along complex curves of the Poincaré sphere.

Abstract

Different from the scalar optical field with spatially uniform polarization, the vector optical field exhibits inhomogeneous distribution of polarization on the cross section. Manipulating the variation of polarization in a single optical beam is important to acquire a flexible and controllable focused optical field. Previous studies mainly focused on the vector optical field with its polarization varying along a circular trajectory of the Poincaré sphere. Here, we demonstrate the tight focusing behaviors of the vector optical field with the polarization varying along complex curves of the Poincaré sphere, which is generated by the joint modulation of azimuthal phase and amplitude distributions of orthogonally polarized components. The longitudinal polarization component with a multipolar pattern in rotational symmetry can be achieved with similar distribution of the total focused field. The transverse and longitudinal spin angular momentum distributions in the focal space are discussed. Approximately pure transverse spin angular momentum can be constructed and manipulated in the focal space, which provides the possibility to manipulate the 3D spin flux for the applications of nano and spin photonics.