Fig. 1. Example of a light field containing four regions as divided by the purple dotted lines. Distributions of the light field parameters are: (a) amplitude A(x,y), (b) polarization θ(x,y), (c) common phase φ(x,y), (d) phase differience δ(x,y), (e) amplitude Ao(x,y) of Eo(x,y), (f) amplitude Ae(x,y) of Ee(x,y), (g) phase φo(x,y) of Eo(x,y), and (h) phase φe(x,y) of Ee(x,y).

Fig. 2. Flow chart of the modified GS algorithm with both amplitude and phase limits.

Fig. 3. Parameters of the light field in the four regions: (a) intensity I(x,y), (b) linear polarization θ=0°, 45°, 90° and 135°, (c) common phase φ(x,y), and (d) phase differience δ(x,y).

Fig. 4. Relief depth distribution of the MCLM that has 16 levels. The depth difference between adjacent levels is 0.13 μm.

Fig. 5. Simulation results: (a) without polarizer; with polarizer oriented at (b) 0°, (c) 45°, (d) 90°, and (e) 135°.

Fig. 6. Fabrication process of the MCLM: (a) the first etching with etching depth of 130 nm, (b) the second etching with etching depth of 260 nm, (c) the third etching with etching depth of 520 nm, and (d) the fourth etching with etching depth of 1024 nm.

Fig. 7. Four masks used in the MCLM fabrication process: (a) mask one, (b) mask two, (c) mask three, and (d) mask four.

Fig. 8. (a) Fabricated MCLM. (b) Structure of the MCLM observed under microscope.

Fig. 9. Experimental setup and light beam path for testing the MCLM performance.

Fig. 10. Experimental results. The desired intensity pattern is received by a CCD. (a) No polarizer analyzer. In (b)–(e), the polarizer analyzer was oriented at 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135°, respectively.