Polarization pattern of vector vortex beams generated by q-plates with different topological charges

We describe the polarization topology of the vector beams emerging from a patterned birefringent liquid crystal plate with a topological charge q at its center (q-plate). The polarization topological structures for different q-plates and different input polarization states have been studied experimentally by measuring the Stokes parameters point-by-point in the beam transverse plane. Furthermore, we used a tuned q=1/2-plate to generate cylindrical vector beams with radial or azimuthal polarizations, with the possibility of switching dynamically between these two cases by simply changing the linear polarization of the input beam.     

Hollow Gaussian beams with the power-exponent-phase vortex

A kind of hollow Gaussian beams with the power-exponent-phase vortex is introduced. Based on the Collins integral, an analytical expression of a hollow Gaussian beam with the power-exponent-phase vortex passing through a paraxial optical system described by the ABCD matrix approach is derived. The analytical expressions for the beam propagation factors and the orbital angular momentum density of such hollow vortex Gaussian beam passing through a paraxial optical system described by the ABCD matrix approach are also derived, respectively. As a numerical example, the propagation properties of a hollow Gaussian beam with the power-exponent-phase vortex are demonstrated in free space. The evolutions of the normalized intensity, the phase and the orbital angular momentum density distributions are investigated, respectively. The influences of the power order and the topological charge on the beam propagation factors in the x- and y-directions are analysed. The introduced hollow Gaussian beam has potential applications in the atom manipulation and the optical trapping.     

Polarization monitors for proton and deuteron beams below 20 MeV

Two polarimeters for proton and deuteron beams using the p+ ⁴He scattering and the ³He(d, p) reaction, respectively, are described. They are placed downstream from a scattering chamber so as to monitor the beam polarization throughout an experiment. Two of the three components of proton spin and six of the eight components of deuteron spin can be measured simultaneously.     

Phase and interference properties of optical vortex beams

Laguerre-Gauss vortex beams carrying different topological charges are generated from Hermite-Gauss laser beams emitted by a gas laser, and their phase properties are explored by studying their interference with a plane wave. Interference of two Laguerre-Gauss vortex beams carrying equal but opposite topological charge is also studied by using a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Experimentally recorded intensity profiles are in good agreement with the theoretically expected profiles.     

Scintillation behaviour of vortex beams in strong turbulence region

Abstract

We study the scintillation behaviour of vectorial vortex beams in strong turbulence region. For this purpose, a list of vortex source beams is prepared. Then their scintillation performances are analysed one by one using the random phase screen approach. The results indicate that there will always be scintillation reductions with increasing values of topological charge, although its effect will diminish as we go towards higher values of the topological charge. The increases in the other specific beam parameters seem to have opposite effect. For the vectorial Hermite Gaussian beam, the use of higher orders will also aid scintillation reductions. It is foreseen that the outcome of this study will be useful for long haul optical communication links.     

Focusing properties of high charge number vortex laser beams

We investigate experimentally and numerically the propagation characteristics of laser beams formed by imparting an azimuthal phase lphi to a Gaussian beam, where l is an integer. We find that when high-l beams of a finite extent are focused through a lens, the beams achieve peak intensity and are most sharply defined before and after the focal plane. Additionally, in these regions of highest intensity the effect of aberrations on the beam quality is greatly reduced, which we also demonstrate experimentally and numerically. We present a simple geometrical picture that provides excellent estimates of the beam radius and propagation distance to the plane of peak intensity.     

Spatial correlation properties of focused partially coherent vortex beams

The spatial correlation properties in the geometrical focal region of a converging, partially coherent vortex wave field are analyzed. Expressions are derived for a pair of points on the axis of symmetry and for a pair of points in the focal plane. It is found that the longitudinal and transverse coherence lengths in the focal region change with the variation of the topological charge and the normalized coherence length of the vortex field. In addition, the degree of coherence is shown to possess phase singularities.     

Circularly polarized beams and vortex generation in uniaxial media

We deduce the expressions for the two circularly polarized components of a paraxial beam propagating along the optical axis of a uniaxial crystal. We find that each of them is the sum of two contributions, the first being a free field and the second describing the interaction with the opposite component. Moreover, we expand both components as a superposition of vortices of any order, thus obtaining a complete physical picture of the interaction dynamics. Consequently, we argue that a left-hand circularly polarized incoming beam, endowed with a circular symmetric profile, gives rise, inside the crystal, to a right-hand circularly polarized vortex of order 2. The efficiency of this vortex generation is investigated by means of a power exchange analysis. The Gaussian case is fully discussed, showing the relevant features of the vortex generation.     

Beam spreading of vortex beams propagating in turbulent atmosphere

We present some results obtained by numerical modeling of the propagation of vortex beams LG(0l) through a randomly inhomogeneous medium. The vortex beams are the lower order Laguerre-Gaussian modes. Such beams, if propagated under conditions of weak turbulence, also experience distortions, like a Gaussian beam. However, the statistically averaged vortex beams (LG(0l)) conserve the central intensity dip with a nonzero intensity on the beam axis. The beam broadening of vortex beams is analyzed. The average vortex beams are found to be broadened less than the Gaussian beam while propagated through a randomly inhomogeneous medium. The higher the topological charge l is, the smaller the beam broadening is.     

Handedness and azimuthal energy flow of optical vortex beams

Abstract

The propagation of optical vortex beams obstructed by a knife edge is investigated. The intensity profile shows a characteristic rotation around the beam axis which can be used to determine the absolute handedness of the vortex. Evolution of the intensity profile directly visualizes the rotation of the beam's local Poynting vector.     

Dipole influence on Shack-Hartmann vortex detection in scintillated beams

Optical vortices can appear in an optical beam that propagates over a long distance through a turbulent atmosphere. A Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor can be used to detect such vortices. However, the morphology of these vortices, which changes with beam propagation, and nearby oppositely charged vortices will affect this vortex detection. The influence of the morphology and the separation distance from oppositely charged vortices on the Shack-Hartmann vortex detection is studied. Numerical simulations for vortex detection under these turbulent atmospheric circumstances are also provided.     

Polarization changes at Lyot depolarizer output for different types of input beams

Lyot depolarizers are optical devices made of birefringent materials used for producing unpolarized beams from totally polarized incident light. The depolarization is produced for polychromatic input beams due to the different phase introduced by the Lyot depolarizer for each wavelength. The effect of this device on other types of incident fields is investigated. In particular two cases are analyzed: (i) monochromatic and nonuniformly polarized incident beams and (ii) incident light synthesized by superposition of two monochromatic orthogonally polarized beams with different wavelengths. In the last case, it is theoretically and experimentally shown that the Lyot depolarizer increases the degree of polarization instead of depolarizes.     

Theoretical and experimental studies on tightly focused vector vortex beams

The high-NA focusing properties of vector vortex beams are studied theoretically and experimentally. The vector vortex beams are generated by space-variant segmented subwavelength metallic gratings first. Then the mathematical expressions for the focused fields are derived based on the vector diffraction theory, and some numerical simulations are presented that show that the focused fields are not dark at the center and the focusing spot size of vector vortex beams with high topological charges approaches the diffraction limitation at high NA. Finally, to verify the theoretical analysis, the tightly focused fields are measured based on a confocal microscopy system when the NA of the objective lens is 0.90. The research results confirm the potential of vector vortex beams in some applications, such as optical trapping, laser printing, lithography, and material processing.     

Polarization separation of light beams at the interface of two mesophases

The features of reflection of the linearly polarized light beams at the interface between two regions of a nematic liquid crystal (LC) with the orthogonal director orientation have been analyzed. The relationship between light beam propagation in a LC material and polarization of laser radiation has been established. Rotation of the polarization plane of a light beam has been found for the radiation introduced through the free surface “LC—air” deformed due to the capillarity effect. The total internal reflection effect has been demonstrated experimentally together with the possibility for special separation of the orthogonally polarized light beams at the interface of two mesophases.     

Vector singularities of Gaussian beams in uniaxial crystals: Optical vortex generation

The propagation of a circularly polarized singular beam through a uniaxial crystal is accompanied by the appearance of additional singularities in the polarization structure of the beam field. These vector singularities combine to form concentric ombilic lines—degenerate ombilic points of the star type, thus significantly changing the entire fine structure of the field. When the beam passes through a birefringent quarter-wave plate and a polarizer, the vector singularities transform into the usual optical vortices. Rotation of the polarizer and/or of the quarter-wave plate drives the vortices to move by preset trajectories, merge with one another, or break into elementary singularities. These processes are studied using theoretical and experimental methods.     

Polarization optimization in the interference of four umbrellalike symmetric beams for making three-dimensional periodic microstructures

A systematic and comprehensive analysis of the interference of four umbrellalike beams (lFUB) is provided based on the reciprocal space theory. The concept of pattern contrast is extended to the case of the IFUB, and it is indicated that a uniform contrast for all the interference terms can be obtained by properly choosing the beam ratio and the polarization of each beam. Different polarization combinations, including linear light and linear light, circular light and circular light, and linear light and circular light, have been discussed for the purpose of maximum uniform contrast. It is shown that the use of circular light may generally improve the uniform contrast. This study may lay a theoretical foundation for holographic fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) periodic microstructures, such as simple cubic, body-centered cubic, face-centered cubic, or trigonal lattice.     

Spiral spectrum of anomalous vortex beams propagating in a weakly turbulent atmosphere

ABSTRACT

We study the spiral spectrum of anomalous vortex beams propagating through a turbulent atmosphere. Based on the Huygens–Fresnel integral and the Rytov approximation, the integral expression and then the analytical expression for the spiral spectrum of anomalous vortex beams in the weakly turbulent atmosphere are derived. The capacity of wireless optical links using the anomalous vortex beam is obtained. It is found that the spiral spectrum of the anomalous vortex beam is less affected by turbulence than that of the Laguerre-Gaussian beam. And thus, the information capacity of wireless optical links using the anomalous vortex beam is larger than that using the Laguerre-Gaussian beam. The influence of beam order, wavelength, topological charge, propagation distance, refractive index structure constant and the radius of receiver aperture on spiral spectrum is investigated. These results contribute to reduce the disturbing effects of atmospheric turbulence on the orbital angular momentum of the vortex beam.     

Study of the properties of non-integer order vortex beams at Fraunhofer zone

The intensity and phase distributions of an optical vortex beam with non-integer values of the topological charge are analyzed in Fraunhofer region. There are two annular rings with different size and shape in the intensity patterns. The petal-like bright spots appear on the larger annular rings with higher intensity, and the small rings with lower-intensity. There are ellipse-like dark spots in the middle of the annular rings. The intensity patterns for positive and negative topological charges of vortex beams are mirrored in the x axis, and the number of bright spots and dark spots is related to the topological charge of vortex beam. In phase patters, the new born phase vortex moves gradually to the origin along the y axis, and the positions of phase vortices within the central region move regularly with the increase of the non-integer topological charge of vortex beam.     

Spectral changes of polychromatic stochastic electromagnetic vortex beams propagating through turbulent atmosphere

The unified theory of coherence and polarization and the propagation law of 2 × 2 cross-spectral density are employed to investigate spectral changes of the polychromatic stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam propagating in turbulent atmosphere. It is shown that the spectral changes of a polychromatic stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam in turbulent atmosphere differ from those of the beam without vortex. Specially, the on-axis relative spectral shifts exhibit not only blue-shift, but also red-shift. It is also shown that the topological charge, the correlation length and the refractive index structure constant influence the spectral changes of polychromatic stochastic electromagnetic vortex beams in a turbulent atmosphere.     

涡旋光束通过非高斯随机粗糙面的场分布特性

基于角谱衍射理论,利用Johnson传递系统数值模拟非高斯粗糙面,研究了拉盖尔-高斯涡旋光束通过随机非高斯粗糙表面的场分布特性。在分析了非高斯粗糙面方向自相关长度、峰度、偏斜以及均方根粗糙度对涡旋光束场分布影响的基础上,研究了涡旋光束通过随机粗糙表面后光束光强分布变化时的均方根粗糙度取值范围,并通过实验,将实验数据与仿真结果进行了对比分析。结果表明:当非高斯粗糙面方向相关长度为20 mm,偏斜为0.001,峰度为6,均方根粗糙度大于0.12 mm时,拉盖尔-高斯光束透过随机表面的光强分布不再保持空心分布,对应的相位奇点消失。