Generation of arbitrary cylindrical vector beams on the higher order Poincare sphere

TL;DR

This paper introduces an interferometric method to generate and control arbitrary cylindrical vector beams on the higher order Poincare sphere, enabling high tunability of polarization states for advanced optical applications.

Contribution

A novel interferometric scheme for generating and tuning arbitrary cylindrical vector beams on the higher order Poincare sphere is proposed and experimentally demonstrated.

Findings

Successfully generated arbitrary vector beams with high tunability.

Demonstrated control over polarization states on the higher order Poincare sphere.

Provided a practical method for evolving polarization states in optical systems.

Abstract

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel interferometric approach to generate arbitrary cylindrical vector beams on the higher order Poincare sphere. Our scheme is implemented by collinear superposition of two orthogonal circular polarizations with opposite topological charges. By modifying the amplitude and phase factors of the two beams, respectively, any desired vector beams on the higher order Poincare sphere with high tunability can be acquired. Our research provides a convenient way to evolve the polarization states in any path on the high order Poincare sphere.