A research team led by Assoc. Prof. WANG Anting from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed a method for multidimensional manipulation of polarization and phase based on a single geometric phase element, and managed to generate and control high-order vector vortex beams (VVBs). The study was published in Laser & Photonics Reviews.

Multidimensional control of laser light fields has always been at the forefront of optical research. Among them, VVBs with various physical characteristics under the coordinated control of spin-orbit angular momentum (OAM) are highly favored. 

VVBs have anisotropic polarization distribution in both the cross-section and helical phase distribution. Their polarization and phase can be independently controlled, showing broad application prospects in fields such as laser processing. However, the high cost and low flexibility of traditional VVBs remain unresolved.

Researchers firstly modulated the phase and polarization of the light beam through the spin-OAM conversion of a single q-plate, and then used traditional optical components to form an adjustable phase delay system. 

This system replaced the electronically controlled liquid crystal phase retarders to regulate the geometric phase of the light beam. Researchers, therefore, generated VVBs which both the phase and polarization topological charges were up to 16, achieving flexible control of the arbitrary polarization distribution of high-order VVBs.

Moreover, researchers utilized the geometrical properties of the traditional Poincaré sphere (TPS) to describe the polarization control process of the proposed phase delay system. They employed the hybrid Poincaré sphere (HyPS) to describe the generated VVB, demonstrating the mapping relationship between the TPS and the HyPS. They also conducted a systematic analysis of the polarization evolution during the propagation process of VVBs.

This study provides a rapid and efficient approach for the flexible generation of VVBs, making it simple, cost-effective, and easily integrable.