Polarization-Dependent Distortion of the Vortex Light Field Generated Using a Vortex Retarder

A vortex retarder (VR) is a widely-used optical component for converting Gaussian light beams into vortex beams, exhibiting unique advantages in a few broadband applications. However, the quality of the vortex beam generated using a VR-based system is highly dependent on the polarization state of th...

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Main Authors: Jinyu Pan, Zhiyuan Huang, Tiandao Chen, Donghan Liu, Yue Yu, Xinshuo Chang, Meng Pang, Yuxin Leng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2024-01-01
Series:IEEE Photonics Journal
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10461014/
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author Jinyu Pan
Zhiyuan Huang
Tiandao Chen
Donghan Liu
Yue Yu
Xinshuo Chang
Meng Pang
Yuxin Leng
author_facet Jinyu Pan
Zhiyuan Huang
Tiandao Chen
Donghan Liu
Yue Yu
Xinshuo Chang
Meng Pang
Yuxin Leng
author_sort Jinyu Pan
collection DOAJ
description A vortex retarder (VR) is a widely-used optical component for converting Gaussian light beams into vortex beams, exhibiting unique advantages in a few broadband applications. However, the quality of the vortex beam generated using a VR-based system is highly dependent on the polarization state of the incident light. In this letter, we investigate both theoretically and experimentally the distortion of the output vortex light field resulting from the misalignment of the light polarization state in a VR-based vortex-beam-generation system. While a theoretical model was constructed to study the optical properties of the generated vortex beams at different polarization states of the incident Gaussian beams, systematic characterizations on near- and far-field profiles of the vortex light fields were performed in the experiment. The results exhibit that non-ideal circularly-polarized incident light can introduce a sinusoidal-shape modulation on the optical field, resulting in both phase and intensity distortions of the generated vortex light beam. Our findings provide some insights into the generation and propagation processes of vortex light fields, which could be useful for the practical construction of a VR-based vortex-beam generation system.
format Article
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institution DOAJ
issn 1943-0655
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Photonics Journal
spelling doaj-art-0e72cccd4b684301ad58fde2f932e50a2025-08-20T02:41:55ZengIEEEIEEE Photonics Journal1943-06552024-01-011621510.1109/JPHOT.2024.337424810461014Polarization-Dependent Distortion of the Vortex Light Field Generated Using a Vortex RetarderJinyu Pan0https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8994-7212Zhiyuan Huang1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2567-2607Tiandao Chen2Donghan Liu3https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7729-156XYue Yu4Xinshuo Chang5https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7892-3325Meng Pang6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4657-3990Yuxin Leng7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2716-4318State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultraintense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultraintense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultraintense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultraintense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultraintense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultraintense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultraintense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultraintense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, ChinaA vortex retarder (VR) is a widely-used optical component for converting Gaussian light beams into vortex beams, exhibiting unique advantages in a few broadband applications. However, the quality of the vortex beam generated using a VR-based system is highly dependent on the polarization state of the incident light. In this letter, we investigate both theoretically and experimentally the distortion of the output vortex light field resulting from the misalignment of the light polarization state in a VR-based vortex-beam-generation system. While a theoretical model was constructed to study the optical properties of the generated vortex beams at different polarization states of the incident Gaussian beams, systematic characterizations on near- and far-field profiles of the vortex light fields were performed in the experiment. The results exhibit that non-ideal circularly-polarized incident light can introduce a sinusoidal-shape modulation on the optical field, resulting in both phase and intensity distortions of the generated vortex light beam. Our findings provide some insights into the generation and propagation processes of vortex light fields, which could be useful for the practical construction of a VR-based vortex-beam generation system.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10461014/Vortex light beamvortex retarderpolarization state
spellingShingle Jinyu Pan
Zhiyuan Huang
Tiandao Chen
Donghan Liu
Yue Yu
Xinshuo Chang
Meng Pang
Yuxin Leng
Polarization-Dependent Distortion of the Vortex Light Field Generated Using a Vortex Retarder
IEEE Photonics Journal
Vortex light beam
vortex retarder
polarization state
title Polarization-Dependent Distortion of the Vortex Light Field Generated Using a Vortex Retarder
title_full Polarization-Dependent Distortion of the Vortex Light Field Generated Using a Vortex Retarder
title_fullStr Polarization-Dependent Distortion of the Vortex Light Field Generated Using a Vortex Retarder
title_full_unstemmed Polarization-Dependent Distortion of the Vortex Light Field Generated Using a Vortex Retarder
title_short Polarization-Dependent Distortion of the Vortex Light Field Generated Using a Vortex Retarder
title_sort polarization dependent distortion of the vortex light field generated using a vortex retarder
topic Vortex light beam
vortex retarder
polarization state
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10461014/
work_keys_str_mv AT jinyupan polarizationdependentdistortionofthevortexlightfieldgeneratedusingavortexretarder
AT zhiyuanhuang polarizationdependentdistortionofthevortexlightfieldgeneratedusingavortexretarder
AT tiandaochen polarizationdependentdistortionofthevortexlightfieldgeneratedusingavortexretarder
AT donghanliu polarizationdependentdistortionofthevortexlightfieldgeneratedusingavortexretarder
AT yueyu polarizationdependentdistortionofthevortexlightfieldgeneratedusingavortexretarder
AT xinshuochang polarizationdependentdistortionofthevortexlightfieldgeneratedusingavortexretarder
AT mengpang polarizationdependentdistortionofthevortexlightfieldgeneratedusingavortexretarder
AT yuxinleng polarizationdependentdistortionofthevortexlightfieldgeneratedusingavortexretarder