Generation of Various Hybrid-Order Poincare Sphere Beams Based on Vortex Half- Wave Plates

The cylindrical vector vortex beam presents a cylindrically symmetrical polarization state distribution and has a helical phase wavefront, which can be described by a hybrid- order Poincare sphere. In this paper, based on the deduction of Jones matrix, we propose and demonstrate a method for generating arbitrary cylindrical vector vortex beams on a hybridorder Poincare sphere using vortex half- wave plates. By using the combination of vortex half-wave plate, half-wave plate, and quarter-wave plate, it is feasible to generate cylindrical vector vortex beams at different positions on the hybrid-order Poincare sphere. The range of orders of hybrid-order Poincare sphere beams can be further expanded by cascading multiple vortex half- wave plates. In experiments, we have measured the polarization state distribution of various beams at different positions on the hybrid- order Poincare sphere, and verified their polarization order and topological charge. This simple and flexible method can realize the independent manipulation of topological charge and polarization order, and has potential value for applications including optical micro-manipulation, optical detection and sensing, and design of novel vector vortex laser sources.

Automated summary

This paper presents a method for generating arbitrary cylindrical vector vortex beams on a hybrid-order Poincare sphere using vortex half-wave plates, allowing independent manipulation of topological charge and polarization order.