Self-interference polarisation pantographer method to fabricate Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical elements

This study proposed a novel method based on self-interference polarisation pantograph (SiPPer) for fabricating Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) devices. The SiPPer method was composed of a standard Cassegrainian system and a polarization patterned template. Based on the self-interference effect between the ordinary and extraordinary components after the birefringence template, all the polarization information were losslessly transferred to the focal plane on which a photosensitive polarization sample was placed. All PB devices are compatible with this method, including polarization grating, q-plate, q-lens, etc. The SiPPer method indeed lowers the requirement on the exposing source, particularly on the parameters of coherence length and linewidth. To verify and evaluate the properties of the SiPPer method, two typical examples, liquid crystal polarization grating and q-plate, were designed and fabricated according to the standard processing. And the experimental results showed fabulous agreement with the theoretical simulation results.

Automated summary

This study proposes a novel method, called self-interference polarisation pantograph (SiPPer), for fabricating Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) devices. The SiPPer method utilizes self-interference effect to transfer polarization information to the focal plane of a photosensitive polarization sample losslessly. This method is compatible with all PB devices and can reduce the requirements on the exposing source.