Abstract
1. INTRODUCTION
Optical vector fields may possess singularities associated with the parameterization of elliptical and partial polarization rather than phase [1]. For example, cylindrical vector (CV) beams with cylindrical polarization symmetry contain an undefined polarization azimuth at the center [2,3]. The peculiar polarization symmetry of CV beams gives rise to unique properties under high-numerical-aperture focusing [2,4,5], which has attracted much attention in fields such as superresolution imaging [6,7], optical trapping [8–10], laser materials processing [11], and light–matter interactions [12,13]. Since 1972 [14,15], many methods have been developed to produce CV beams, including using laser intracavity devices [14,15] that force the laser to oscillate in CV modes, polarization manipulation with spatial light modulators (SLMs) [16–18], and employing space variant polarization converters [19–21]. However, all of these studies are typically implemented in free space and experience little or no sample aberrations.
Set citation alerts for the article
Please enter your email address