Detection of cylindrical vector beams with chiral plasmonic lens

The cylindrical vector beam (CVB) has been extensively studied in recent years, but detection of CVBs with on-chip photonic devices is a challenge. Here, we propose and theoretically study a chiral plasmonic lens structure for CVB detection. The structure illuminated by a CVB can generate single plasmonic focus, whose focal position depends on the incident angle and the polarization order of CVB. Thus, the incident CVB can be detected according to the focal position and incident angle and with a coupling waveguide to avoid the imaging of the whole plasmonic field. It shows great potential in applications including CVB-multiplexing integrated communication systems.

Automated summary

We propose and theoretically study a chiral plasmonic lens structure for the detection of cylindrical vector beams (CVBs). The structure can generate a single plasmonic focus, whose position depends on the incident angle and polarization order of the CVB. The incident CVB can be detected based on the focal position and incident angle, with the use of a coupling waveguide to avoid imaging of the entire plasmonic field. This structure shows great potential in applications such as CVB-multiplexing integrated communication systems.