Radial and azimuthal polarizers

A method for dividing an incoming beam into radially and azimuthally polarized beams is proposed and studied theoretically. A thin birefringent plate-with its optical axis perpendicular to its polished surfaces-inserted behind a focusing lens generates two foci. One can be associated with the azimuthally and other with the radially polarized components of the incoming beams. A vector diffraction model that takes into consideration the optical aberration introduced by the plate was used to calculate the intensity distribution in the vicinity of the foci. It was shown that the foci can be separated with high efficiency by means of an on-axis pinhole and a cover glass corrected lens.