Generation and measurement of irregular polygonal perfect vortex optical beam based on all-dielectric geometric metasurface.

The perfect optical vortex (POV) beam carrying orbital angular momentum with topological charge-independent radial intensity distribution possesses ubiquitous applications in optical communication, particle manipulation, and quantum optics. But the mode distribution of conventional POV beam is relatively single, limiting the modulation of the particles. Here, we originally introduce the high-order cross-phase (HOCP) and ellipticity γ into the POV beam and construct all-dielectric geometric metasurfaces to generate irregular polygonal perfect optical vortex (IPPOV) beams following the trend of miniaturization and integration of optical systems. By controlling the order of the HOCP, conversion rate u, and ellipticity factor γ, various shapes of IPPOV beams with different electric field intensity distributions can be realized. In addition, we analyze the propagation characteristics of IPPOV beams in free-space, and the number and rotation direction of bright spots at the focal plane give the magnitude and sign of the topological charge carried by the beam. The method does not require cumbersome devices or complex calculation process, and provides a simple and effective method for simultaneous polygon shaping and topological charge measurement. This work further improves the beam manipulation ability while maintaining the characteristics of the POV beam, enriches the mode distribution of the POV beam, and provides more possibilities for particle manipulation.

Generation of multi-channel perfect vortex beams with the controllable ring radius and the topological charge based on an all-dielectric transmission metasurface.

The perfect vortex (PV) beam, characterized by carrying orbital angular momentum and a radial electric intensity distribution independent of the topological charge, has important applications in optical communication, particle manipulation, and quantum optics. Conventional methods of generating PV beams require a series of bulky optical elements that are tightly collimated with each other, adding to the complexity of optical systems. Here, making the amplitude of transmitted co-polarized and cross-polarized components to be constant, all-dielectric transmission metasurfaces with superimposed phase profiles integrating spiral phase plate, axicon and Fourier lens are constructed based on the phase-only modulation method. Using mathematical derivation and numerical simulation, multi-channel PV beams with controllable annular ring radius and topological charge are realized for the first time under circularly polarized light incidence combining the propagation phase and geometric phase. Meanwhile, perfect vector vortex beams are produced by superposition of PV beams under the incidence of left-handed circularly polarized and right-handed circularly polarized lights, respectively. This work provides a new perspective on generating tailored PV beams, increasing design flexibility and facilitating the construction of compact, integrated, and versatile nanophotonics platforms.

Numerical Simulation of Integrated Generation and Shaping of Airy and Bessel Vortex Beams Based on All-Dielectric Metasurface.

Integrating multiple independent functions into a single optical component is one of the most important topics in research on photoelectric systems. In this paper, we propose a multifunctional all-dielectric metasurface that can achieve a variety of non-diffractive beams depending on the polarization state of the incident light. Using the anisotropic TiO2 rectangular column as the unit structure, the three functions of generating polygonal Bessel vortex beams under left-handed circularly polarized incidence, Airy vortex beams under right-handed circularly polarized incidence and polygonal Airy vortex-like beams under linearly polarized incidence are realized. In addition, the number of polygonal beam sides and the position of focal plane can be adjusted. The device could facilitate further developments in scaling complex integrated optical systems and fabricating efficient multifunctional components.

Multifunctional Optical Vortex Beam Generator via Cross-Phase Based on Metasurface.

We propose a multifunctional optical vortex beam (OVB) generator via cross-phase based on a metasurface. Accordingly, we separately investigate the two different propagation characteristics of OVB modulated by the low-order cross-phase (LOCP) and the high-order cross-phase (HOCP) in a self-selected area. When LOCP modulation is added to OVB, topological charges can be measured for any order of OVB. Moreover, we achieve the rotation tunable performance successfully by adding the rotation component. Then, we realize the function of polygonal beam generation and singularities regulation with the HOCP. The order of the HOCP is exactly equal to the number of a polygon OVB's sides. The waist radius and usable width of the beam lengthens as the distance of the self-selected area increases. When the conversion rate is doubled, the distance between singularities widens by about 0.5 µm. The proposed OVB generator provides a simple strategy for detecting the value of topological charges and achieving OVB shaping and singularity manipulation simultaneously. We hope this can open new horizons for promoting the development of photon manipulation, optical communication, and vortex beam modulation.

Theoretical Study on Generation of Multidimensional Focused and Vector Vortex Beams via All-Dielectric Spin-Multiplexed Metasurface.

The optical vortex (OV) beams characterized by orbital angular momentum (OAM) possess ubiquitous applications in optical communication and nanoparticle manipulation. Particularly, the vortex vector beams are important in classical physics and quantum sciences. Here, based on an all-dielectric transmission metasurface platform, we demonstrate a spin-multiplexed metadevice combining propagation phase and Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phase. By utilizing a phase-only modulation method, the metadevice can generate spin-dependent and multidimensional focused optical vortex (FOV) under the orthogonally circularly polarized incident light, and it can successfully realize the multiplexed of the above-mentioned FOVs for linearly polarized light. Meanwhile, the superposition of multiple OAM states can also produce vector vortex beams with different modes. Additionally, the evolution process of the electric field intensity profile is presented after the resultant vector vortex beams through a horizontal linear polarization. This work paves an innovative way for generating structured beams, and it provides promising opportunities for advanced applications in optical data storage, optical micromanipulation, and data communication.