Anisotropic diffractive optical element

for generating hybrid-polarized

beams

Sergei V. Karpeev
Vladimir V. Podlipnov
Svetlana N. Khonina
Vyacheslav D. Paranin
Konstantin N. Tukmakov

Sergei V. Karpeev, Vladimir V. Podlipnov, Svetlana N. Khonina, Vyacheslav D. Paranin, Konstantin

N. Tukmakov, “Anisotropic diffractive optical element for generating hybrid-polarized beams,” Opt. Eng.
58(8), 082402 (2018), doi: 10.1117/1.OE.58.8.082402.

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 Optical Engineering 58(8), 082402 (August 2019)

Anisotropic diffractive optical element for

generating hybrid-polarized beams
Sergei V. Karpeev,a,b,* Vladimir V. Podlipnov,a,b Svetlana N. Khonina,a,b Vyacheslav D. Paranin,b and
Konstantin N. Tukmakovb
a
Image Processing Systems Institute, Branch of the Federal Scientific Research Centre “Crystallography and Photonics” of
the Russian Academy of Sciences, Samara, Russia
b
Samara National Research University, Samara, Russia

Abstract. An approach is proposed to implement diffractive optical elements for the conversion of the
polarization state of beams. Calcite crystal etching technology is developed and applied to manufacture a four-
sector polarization converter. The fabricated four-sector polarization converter is experimentally investigated.
The orthogonal polarization state of beams in opposite sectors is achieved by selecting a wavelength with
a tunable laser. The experimental results of focusing the converted beams are consistent with the numerical
simulation. © 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.58.8.082402]
Keywords: inhomogeneous polarization; sector polarization plates; calcite crystal etching; wavelength selection; focal patterns.
Paper 180918SS received Jun. 27, 2018; accepted for publication Sep. 27, 2018; published online Dec. 21, 2018.

1 Introduction In prior works,3–5 the above problems are combated using

Beams with various hybrid polarizations1,2 can serve for the
formation of focal distributions of a given type. Beams with a
complex polarization state are effectively generated by sector
plates in which the sectors are either half-wave plates3,4 or
film polarizers.5 The former use a linearly polarized illumi-
nating beam, and the latter use a circularly polarized beam.
Polarization converters based on subwavelength diffraction
gratings are also known.6 The sectors of the polarization con-
verter can be made in the form of subwavelength reflective
gratings,7,8 which, like half-wave plates, provide rotation of
the polarization plane and are used for linear polarization of
the illuminating beam. A distinctive feature of sector-based
polarization converters is the ease of use.
Effective conversion (virtually without energy losses)
provides only a variant of a sector converter based on
half-wave plates. Obviously, a film converter has an effi-
ciency of 50% at best. In a converter based on subwavelength
gratings, the efficiency and, consequently, the polarization
contrast, varies depending on the angle of rotation of the
polarization plane by the grating. Thus, Stafeev et al.8 varied
the polarization contrast in sectors from 185:1 to 6:1, which,
of course, does not meet even the most minimal require-
ments. It should also be noted that this property of a change
in efficiency theoretically follows from the very mechanism
of the operation of subwavelength gratings and cannot
be eliminated by any complication of the already complex
technology of their fabrication.
For gratings assembled from half-wave plates and from a
polarized film, the main factor that worsens the quality of
the formed beams is the presence of sector joints. Gaps and
misalignments between the sectors lead to the appearance of
parasitic diffraction patterns and additionally violate the
axial symmetry of the produced beams. The initial violation
of the axial symmetry is determined by the limited number of
sectors (usually no more than 8).
low-frequency spatial filtration of the beam obtained by
a telescopic system with a point diaphragm in focus.
However, this technique leads to significant energy losses.
The effect of sector joints can be significantly reduced by
manufacturing a sector plate in the form of a single birefrin-
gent crystal, the sectors being formed by a microrelief on
the crystal surface.
In essence, as in Refs. 7 and 8, the converter is imple-
mented using diffractive optical element (DOE) technology,
but unlike Refs. 7 and 8, the sectors operate as crystal half-
wave plates and, consequently, completely eliminate all the
imperfections of subwavelength gratings.
A DOE for polarization conversion, made on a substrate
of a birefringent material, was first proposed by Niu et al.9
However, this DOE9 relied on a fundamentally different
approach,10 based on the interference of a pair of laser
modes. The DOE produces, respectively, Hermite–Gaussian
modes (0, 1) and (1, 0) in the ordinary and extraordinary rays
that are formed at a certain distance. Then, the modes are
subjected to an additional phase conversion using a second
DOE, after which a radially polarized R-TEMð0.1Þ mode is
obtained. The disadvantages of the method are, first of
all, the high technological complexity of manufacturing a
multilevel DOE with a maximum relief height of several
wavelengths on a quartz substrate. Apparently, for this
reason, Niu et al.9 did not perform a full-scale experiment
with the proposed DOE.
Another version of the DOE on a birefringent crystal was
proposed in Refs. 11 and 12 to generate radially and azimu-
thally polarized beams. Such a DOE is a multilevel spiral
phase plate, at the full height of the relief the value of
the path difference between the ordinary and extraordinary
rays being 2λ. Even for a highly anisotropic material used
in Ref. 10, the height of the relief is about 11 μm. Thus,
the approach in Refs. 11 and 12 suffers from the same draw-
backs as that in Ref. 9. In addition, the use of the element12

*Address all correspondence to: Sergei V. Karpeev, E-mail: karp@smr.ru 0091-3286/2018/$25.00 © 2018 SPIE

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 Karpeev et al.: Anisotropic diffractive optical element for generating hybrid-polarized beams
involves the employment of an immersion cell with a special
gel and the presence of two additional quarter-wave and
two half-wave plates in the optical scheme.
It should be noted that there is another mechanism respon-
sible for the formation of inhomogeneous polarizations in
anisotropic crystals,13–15 which is not related to the deposi-
tion of a microrelief on the crystal surface. However, this
mechanism works only in conditions of nonparaxial incident
beams of a special type, which are also obtained with the
help of separate DOEs.
In this paper, we propose a new approach to the imple-
mentation of a DOE based on an anisotropic crystal for
the conversion of the polarization state of beams. The
obtained hybrid polarization states make it possible to
form new field distributions in the focal region with high effi-
ciency. In this paper, a four-sector polarization converter is
fabricated on a single crystal of calcite. The distribution of
the field formed by the manufactured optical element in the
near zone and in the focal plane of the lens is experimentally
performed.
2 Principles of Designing DOEs on an Anisotropic
Crystal
Consider the manufacture of a sector plate in the form of a
single birefringent crystal with sectors formed on the surface
by a microrelief. In this case, instead of the joints of individ-
ual half-wave plates, a step appears that introduces much
less distortion. As is easily understood, only four sections
can be produced on an anisotropic single-axis crystal, which
will ensure a pairwise orthogonal polarization state of the
beams transmitted through them. To this end, the half-wave
plates should be formed in two opposite sectors by etching
two other sectors to a certain depth. The etching depth with
respect to the substrate must satisfy the condition
λ λ
h¼ ¼ ;
2Δn 2ðno − ne Þ
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e001;63;377
where Δn is the birefringence, and λ is the wavelength at
which the converter is supposed to be used. For the correct
operation of the half-wave plates located on the surface of an
anisotropic crystal of thickness H, after passing through this
crystal the polarization state of the beam must not change,
that is, the condition
Nλi
H¼
Δn
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e002;63;268
should be met. N ¼ HΔn∕λi is the path difference in wave-
lengths between the ordinary and extraordinary rays at
a crystal thickness H, which, as a rule, amounts to hundreds
of wavelengths. Equation (2) is satisfied for a number of
wavelengths λi that are quasiperiodically repeated with
a local period
HΔn HΔn λi λ
Δλ ¼ λi − λiþ1 ¼ − ¼ ≈ i:
N Nþ1 Nþ1 N
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e003;63;160
None of the wavelengths λi can exactly coincide with the
calculated wavelength λ; however, as it is easy to see from
Eq. (3), the value of Δλ is so small that the choice of the
wavelength λi closest to λ ensures that Eq. (1) is fulfilled
to hundredths of a fraction of λ. Thus, small changes in
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the wavelength near the calculated value of λ allow
Eqs. (1) and (2) to be almost simultaneously exactly fulfilled.
This property comes from the fact that H ≫ h.
Note that when the wavelength λi is changed by half
a period, we get a new wavelength
Δλ
λi ¼ λi þ ; (4)
2
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e004;326;697
for which the etched part of the crystal will work as a half-
wave plate, and after it the polarization plane will rotate
by π∕2. For the other part of the plate, Eq. (2) will now
be satisfied and the polarization plane will not rotate. Thus,
when the wavelength is changed by half a period Δλ ∕ 2, the
polarization state in the sectors will change to an orthogonal
state each time.
Finally, consider the case of a significant deviation of the
wavelength λi from the calculated wavelength, that is, when
jλ − λi j ≫ Δλ. Then, the linear polarization of the transmit-
ted light can be observed only after passing one pair of sec-
tors for which one of the two conditions, either Eq. (2) or
Eq. (4), is fulfilled. Note that when Eq. (2) is met, rotation
of the polarization plane is absent. In the other pair of sectors,
an elliptical polarization of the transmitted light with ellip-
ticity depending on the deviation value will be observed.
In the case where neither Eq. (2) nor Eq. (4) is fulfilled
for either sector, elliptical polarization of the transmitted
light will be observed in all sectors, with the larger semiaxes
of the ellipses being orthogonal. In those sectors where the
crystal thickness is closer to the fulfillment of either Eq. (2)
or Eq. (4), the ellipses will be more elongated.
3 Basic Parameters and Manufacturing
Technology of the Polarization Converter
In this section, we substantiate the main parameters and
describe the technology of manufacturing the proposed
(1) element. First of all, we need to determine the geometric
parameters and to choose the material for fabricating the con-
verter. As it is easy to understand, a single anisotropic single-
axis crystal has one axis and makes it possible to produce
only a four-section converter. Simple calculations using
Eq. (1) show that to ensure a necessary path difference in
the visible wavelength range, the step on crystalline quartz
should be more than 30 μm. This value presents difficulties
in terms of technology, and so a material with a much greater
anisotropy than that of quartz, for example calcite, is needed.
(2) For the visible wavelength range, the required etching depth
of the CaCO3 crystal does not exceed 2 μm. The most
suitable is liquid etching in a solution of the disodium salt of
ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (C10 H14 N2 Na2 O8 , Trilon B).
The process provides a relatively high etch rate while main-
taining a good quality of polishing of the etched surface.
The chemical reaction occurs with the formation of a soluble
salt:
TrB-2Na þ CaCO3 → TrB-Ca þ Na2 CO3 : (5)
(3)
EQ-TARGET;temp:intralink-;e005;326;160
To prepare an etching solution, 10 g of Trilon B was
dissolved in 45 ml of deionized water at a temperature of
60°C, which corresponds to a theoretical solubility limit at
a given temperature. The entire etching process was carried
out by maintaining this temperature with the aid of a pro-
grammable hotplate.
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 Karpeev et al.: Anisotropic diffractive optical element for generating hybrid-polarized beams

Fig. 1 Profilogram of a step on a calcite crystal.

(ii) application of the photoresist by centrifugation at

1500 rpm, which provides a resist layer of about
1.5 μm in thickness;
(iii) drying of the photoresist on the hotplate at a temper-
ature of 130°C for 2 min;
(iv) exposure through a contact mask by a 405-nm LED
source; and
(v) development in a UPF-1B universal buffer developer
(based on alkali) for 30 s.

To prevent etching of the back side of the crystal, after

Fig. 2 Microphotographs of the joint between two sections of an eight-
sector plate based on multiorder half-wave plates.16
The CaCO3 crystal covered with a given photomask was
etched using a positive FP-2512 photoresist, which has
an increased chemical resistance and makes it possible to
produce relatively thick layers. The lithographic process
consisted of the following stages:
(i) purification of the parent crystal in IPA followed by
washing in deionized water;
the photoresist mask was coated we applied a self-adhesive
high-performance polyamide film to the crystal.
At the initial stage of etching, we repeatedly used white
light interferometry to perform several control measurements
of the etching depth to assess the etching rate and stability of
the process. To do this, the crystal was immersed in a pre-
viously prepared Trilon B solution for 1 min, after which the
height difference was measured between the etched and
masked areas, taking into account the thickness of the photo-
resist layer. Thus, the etching rate was determined to be
0.27 μm∕ min. Further etching of the crystal was carried
out taking into account the rate obtained. At the end of the
dissolution process, the polyamide film was mechanically
removed. The photoresist mask was removed by dissolving

Fig. 3 Phase and polarization state distribution upon passage of a beam with a wavelength of λ0 through
a relief and a crystalline substrate whose thickness corresponds to a path difference of (a) λ0 , (b) 0.1λ0 ,
(c) 0.25λ0 , and (d) 0.4λ0 .

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 Karpeev et al.: Anisotropic diffractive optical element for generating hybrid-polarized beams

Fig. 4 Focusing of a Gaussian beam transmitted through the converter at different wavelengths.

in acetone followed by washing in isopropyl alcohol and
deionized water. The profilogram of the obtained step is
shown in Fig. 1. One can see that the etching depth was
about 1970 nm at a plate thickness of about 1.5 mm. This
etching depth gives the fulfillment of Eq. (1) at a wavelength
of λ0 ¼ 678 nm. The number N in this case is about 400,
which guarantees that Eq. (1) is fulfilled no worse than
λ∕800. The size of the plate is 15 × 15 mm. The width of
the raster zone is about 40 μm. This relatively large value
is apparently due to the difference in etching rates along

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 Karpeev et al.: Anisotropic diffractive optical element for generating hybrid-polarized beams

Fig. 5 Intensity distributions formed by a four-section plate at different wavelengths (negative images).
The size of the images is 4 × 4 mm.

and across the crystal axis, but this is still four times smaller
than the width of the joints when assembling the converter
from separate half-wave plates.16
For comparison, Fig. 2 shows microscope photos of a
joint between two sections of an eight-sector plate based
on multiorder half-wave plates.16 One can see that the gap
between the plates is about 180 μm. The edges of the plates
also have defects up to 50 μm in width.
4 Simulation
In this section, we simulate the polarization conversion by
the sectoral relief formed on the surface of the calcite crystal.
The crystal axis in the manufactured polarization converter
was directed parallel to the bisectrix of the sector angle.
In Fig. 3, the crystal axis is located vertically.
The polarization plane of the incident light forms an angle
π∕4 with the crystal axis. For the step of the 1970-nm-high
relief, as mentioned above, Eq. (1) will be satisfied for
the wavelength λ0 ¼ 678 nm. If Eq. (2) is satisfied for the
substrate, then the polarization state of the transmitted light
in neighboring sectors will be orthogonal. Figure 3 shows
the simulation results for a linearly polarized beam converted
by the optical element in question at various deviations of
the thickness of the crystalline substrate from Eq. (2) for
the calculated wavelength λ0 ¼ 678 nm. The deviations of
the substrate thickness by 0.1λ0 in both directions lead to
the appearance of elliptical polarizations approximating

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 Karpeev et al.: Anisotropic diffractive optical element for generating hybrid-polarized beams
Fig. 6 Results of an experimental study of a focused beam transmitted through the converter at different
wavelengths.
the corresponding linear ones. In the case of a deviation
by 0.25λ0, corresponding to a quarter-wave plate, linear
polarization undergoes transition into circular polarization.
Figure 4 shows the simulation results of the focusing of a
Gaussian beam converted by the optical element under con-
sideration for different wavelengths at a 1.5-mm-thick crystal
substrate. As can be seen from Fig. 4, if the wavelength is
chosen in such a way that the deviations from Eqs. (1) and
(2) are small and close to plane polarization (and this is
possible in the wavelength range from 600 to 750 nm), the
distributions of the total intensity and the intensities of the
x- and y-components in the focal plane practically do not
change and do not depend on which quadrants the polariza-
tion planes are rotated. In this case, the intensity distributions
of x- and y-components are significantly different. For other
wavelength ranges, where the polarization of light after
passing through different quadrants is already substantially
different from the plane one, there are also significant
differences from the distributions considered above, mainly
in the distribution of the y-component.
5 Experiment
In our experimental study, the wavelengths λi were selected
to ensure the fulfillment of Eq. (2). Initially, the wavelength
was varied near the calculated wavelength λ0 ¼ 678 nm,
which should provide the closest wavelength to the calcu-
lated one. To select the wavelength, we used a tunable
EKSPLA NT-200 laser, which provides the wavelength
tuning with a step of 0.1 nm. In Fig. 5, the first row shows
the distribution of the light intensity passed through the
converter without an analyzer and with an analyzer for
λi ¼ 678.3 nm. One can see from Fig. 5 that for this wave-
length Eq. (2) is satisfied, which ensures a pairwise orthogo-
nal polarization state in the corresponding sectors. The
calculated value of Δλ for this wavelength is 1.74 nm. In
Fig. 5, the second row shows the light intensity distribution
for λi ¼ λi þ ðΔλ∕2Þ ¼ 678.3 nm þ 0.87 nm ≈ 679.1 nm.
As can be seen, dark and light sectors changed places,
which is consistent with the calculations and simulation
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results of Sec. 1. Then, the wavelength was reduced to
586.4 nm. As can be seen from Fig. 5 (third row), Eq. (2)
is also satisfied for this wavelength. The period Δλ for
this wavelength is 1.16 nm. The first change in the polari-
zation state of the sectors, close to the orthogonal state,
occurs at a wavelength of 586.9 nm, as follows from the
calculations. However, Eq. (1) for this wavelength is not
satisfied as accurately as for λ0 ¼ 678 nm; therefore, as
was shown in Sec. 1, the resulting polarizations are elliptical,
which leads to a decrease in the polarization contrast
between the sectors in Fig. 5.
Next, we focused the obtained beams with a lens having
a focal length of 100 mm. The obtained distributions are
given in Fig. 6.
In general, the results of the experimental study agree
with those of the simulation. For the wavelength λ ¼
630 nm, the experimental result is fairly close to the simu-
lation result for λ ¼ 650 nm. As for the result of the experi-
ment for λ ¼ 650 nm, the regularity of conservation of the
x-component distribution is observed, with the y-component
being substantially weakened, which results in significant
changes in the total intensity distribution.
6 Conclusions
We have considered the work of a DOE in the form of a step
on the surface of an anisotropic crystal. We have developed a
method for manufacturing sector plates for the conversion of
the polarization state of beams. The method based on etching
of a calcite crystal has been developed and implemented.
The resulting width of the steps on the calcite crystal
is four times smaller than the width of the joints in a con-
verter assembled from half-wave plates. We have numeri-
cally simulated polarization conversions when light passes
through a converter at different wavelengths, and also when
the transmitted beam is focused by a lens. The results of
the experimental study of the manufactured four-sector
polarization converter are in good agreement with the results
of calculations and numerical simulation.
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Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by Russian Foundation
for Basic Research (Grant Nos. 16-29-11698-ofi_m and
16-07-00825-a) and by the Federal Agency of Scientific
Organizations (Agreement No. 007-GZ/C3363/26).
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Biographies for the authors are not available.
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