Chinese Optics Letters, Volume. 23, Issue 6, 063603(2025)
Generation of arbitrary vector vortex beams on the hybrid-order Poincaré sphere from cholesteric liquid crystals
Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of the hybrid-order Poincaré sphere. (θ, Φ) is the spherical coordinates. The points |Hm, l⟩, |Vm, l⟩, |Dm, l⟩, and |Am, l⟩ represent the horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and antidiagonal polarization bases, respectively.
Fig. 2. Illustration of the three-dimensional molecular array of designed liquid crystal planar optical elements with (a) right-handed chiral helix and radially aligned pattern on the surface; (b) left-handed chiral helix and x-direction aligned pattern on the surface.
Fig. 3. Optical behaviors of a combination of RCLC and LCLC samples under (a) RCP and (b) LCP plane-wave illumination.
Fig. 4. Sample characterization. The transmission spectra for (a) RCLC and (b) LCLC samples. Photos under polarization optical microscopy for (c) RCLC and (d) LCLC samples. Experimental intensity images of planar reference wave interfering with light reflected from (e) RCLC and (f) LCLC samples.
Fig. 5. Experimental configuration to generate and analyze the vector vortex beams on the hybrid-order Poincaré sphere.
Fig. 6. Polarization distributions and intensity patterns of typical vector vortex beams on the surface of the hybrid-order Poincaré sphere. The first and second rows are, respectively, the theoretical and experimental results at points (0, 0, 1), (0, 0, −1),
Fig. 7. Intensity patterns of typical vector vortex beams after passing through a polarizer at different angles. The first and second rows, respectively, represent the theoretical and experimental images of the radially polarized vector vortex beam. The third and fourth rows, respectively, show the theoretical and experimental images of the azimuthally polarized vector vortex beam.
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Tiegang Lin, Ben Niu, Furong Liu, Xianglin Ye, Fan Fan, Yufang Liu, "Generation of arbitrary vector vortex beams on the hybrid-order Poincaré sphere from cholesteric liquid crystals," Chin. Opt. Lett. 23, 063603 (2025)
Category: Nanophotonics, Metamaterials, and Plasmonics
Received: Dec. 12, 2024
Accepted: Jan. 21, 2025
Posted: Jan. 21, 2025
Published Online: May. 30, 2025
The Author Email: Fan Fan (ffan@hnu.edu.cn), Yufang Liu (yf-liu@htu.edu.cn)