Generation of singular beams in uniaxial crystals

The process of generation and transformation of the structure of singular beams both coherent and incoherent, in a crystal-polarization compensator-polarizer system is studied. It is shown that this system can transform the topological charge of the initial beam. The value of the transformed charge depends both on the structure of the initial beam and on its polarization. The initial singular beams, transferring topological multipoles, are shown to acquire unique properties after passing through the system. This system, in particular, makes it possible to control the position of bound optical vortices and the magnitudes of their angular momenta, which may find practical application in devices for trapping, transportation, and mutual arrangement of microparticles. (C) 2003 MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica.