Polarization control of non-diffractive helical optical beams through subwavelength metallic apertures

We demonstrate experimentally a simple method for preparing non-diffractive vectorial optical beams that can display wave-front helicity. This method is based on space-variant modifications of the polarization of an optical beam transmitted through subwavelength annular rings perforating opaque metal films. We show how the description of the optical properties of such structures must account for the vectorial character of the polarization and how, in turn, these properties can be controlled by straightforward sequences of preparation and analysis of polarization states.