Complex beam shaping based on an equivalent q-plate system and analysis of its properties using digital holography polarization imaging

Abstract

Abstract In this study, we generate various complex beams carrying angular momentum (AM) by using a programmable beam shaping system to mimic typical q-plates. When a circularly polarized wave is incident onto the system, the emerging beam reverses its spin handedness and obtains a spatial phase factor. This phase factor can be engineered by designing a computer-generated hologram (CGH) and applying it to a spatial light modulator (SLM) to produce a beam with controllable spatially distributed orbital angular momentum (OAM) density. To determine the properties of the generated fields, we combine digital holography (DH) with the beam shaping system to yield visualizations of the beam intensity, phase, and AM distributions over the transverse plane at different propagation distances. Comparisons of the theoretically and experimentally obtained results show good qualitative agreement. This study advances our understanding and interpretation of AM characteristics produced by a programmable q-plate-like system.