Fig. 1. Patterns of the (a) linear phase, (b) cubic phase, and (c) superimposed phase, where black to white indicates 0 to 2π. (d) Micrograph of the LC CAP with an inset showing the zoom-in image of the central part marked by the dashed lines. The scale bar is 100 μm.

Fig. 2. Optical setup for the generation and modulation of CABs.

Fig. 3. (a) Experimental and (b) simulated autofocusing dynamics of the CAB. Blue circles in (a) represent the measured radius or the transverse deflection of the CAB, and the red lines are parabolic fit curves. The inserted transverse profiles are detected at z=10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 74 cm, respectively.

Fig. 4. (a)–(e) Intensity distributions of the defocusing CABs at z=0, 20 40, 60, and 74 cm, (f) autofocusing CAB at z=74cm by changing the incident polarization from RCP to LCP, and (g) transformed Bessel beam at z=90cm. The insets in (f) and (g) are the zoom-in images of the central parts. (h) Detected OFF state of the CAB at z=74cm when the applied voltage is tuned to meet the full-wave condition. The scale bars in (a) and the insets of (f)–(h) indicate 500 μm and 200 μm, respectively.