The tight focusing properties of spatial hybrid polarization vector beam

Abstract The focusing properties of spatial hybridly polarized vector beams including linear, elliptical, and circular polarizations are investigated in this paper. Such a type of hybridly polarized vector beams has been real-time obtained from a radially or an azimuthally polarized beam with a combination of a liquid crystal variable retarder (LCVR), which can be modulated by varying the applied voltage to generate the variable phase retardation angle δ . Numerical results show the evolution of the longitudinal focal pattern has more remarkable than transverse focal pattern with changing of the δ being from 0 to π . So the phase retardation angle δ can be regarded as an important parameter in controlling the field properties at the focus.