Generation of hallow vector beam by high-order cylindrical vector beams

Abstract: We propose a method for generating hollow beams using higher-order cylindrical vector modes of the form R-TEMpl, where the radial index p is varied from 1 to 3 while the azimuthal index is fixed at l = 1. It is found that this scheme performs identically under incident illumination with either radial or azimuthal polarization. For this purpose, we use a focusing lens in combination with a diffractive optical element formed by a computer-generated hologram containing multiple alternate opaque and transparent regions. Based on vector diffraction theory, our analysis shows that the multi-zone amplitude mask redistributes the beam energy, thereby leading to the formation of a hollow beam. The proposed method provides control over the beam width which maintains a uniform dark core size after focusing through the various NA lens across all the higher order modes. Further the width of high intensity ring can be tuned by varying the NA of the focusing lens. This study shows that the proposed method is well suited for trapping particles or atoms while avoiding exposure to high central intensity, enabling improved contrast and resolution, facilitating ring-shaped ablation or heating, guiding atoms through dark regions to minimize thermal effects, and supporting information encoding using orbital angular momentum and other advanced optical applications.