title: Decomposition of radially and azimuthally polarized beams using a circular-polarization and vortex-sensing diffraction grating.
abstract: Both radially polarized and azimuthally polarized beams can be decomposed into linear combinations of circularly polarized vortex beams having opposite vortex charges. We show experimental evidence for this decomposition using a specially designed vortex sensing diffraction grating that generates multiple vortex patterns having different senses of circularly polarization in the different diffracted orders. When this grating is illuminated with a radially or azimuthally polarized beam, the grating separates the components into different diffracted orders. Experimental results are shown.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencia de Materiales, Optica y Tecnología Electrónica, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03202 Elche, Spain. i.moreno@umh.es
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Don M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Cottrell
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D004867:Equipment Design; D008027:Light; D016014:Linear Models; D015233:Models, Statistical; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D012031:Refractometry / Q000379:methods; D012542:Scattering, Radiation