New paper in Optics & Laser Technology on the use of commercial q-plates at different wavelengths
AÂ new paper in the journal Optics & Laser Technology entitled Spectral performance of a zero-order liquid-crystal polymer commercial q-plate for the generation of vector beams at different wavelengths.
It deals with the use of liquid-crystal polymer q-plates operated at different wavelengths. We show how a broadband spectral characterization allows identifying the wavelengths with retardance values relevant for vector beam generation (π, π/2, and 3π/2). The wavelength is then used as a tuning parameter to change the device performance from the standard half-wave q-plate to a positive or a negative quarter-wave q-plate.
We present a simple procedure to derive the polarization distribution of the generated vector beams, and show that they can produce hybrid vector beams when operated at non-design wavelenths. Therefore, these results could extend the use of commercial q-plates for multicolour vector beam applications.
This work has been done in collaboration with Prof. Jeffrey A. Davis and Isaiah Abella, from San Diego State University.