We propose the concept of perfect vectorial vortex beams (VVBs), which not merely have intensity profile independent of the polarization order and the topological charge of spiral phase, but also have stable intensity profile and state of polarization (SoP) upon propagation. Utilizing a Sagnac interferometer, we approximately generate perfect VVBs with locally linear and elliptical polarizations, and demonstrate that such beams can keep their intensity profile and SoP at a certain propagation distance. These proposed VVBs can be expanded to encode information and quantum cryptography, as well as to enrich the conversion of spin and orbital angular momenta.

Optical cryptography manifests itself a powerful platform for information security, which involves encrypting secret images into visual patterns. Recently, encryption schemes demonstrated on metasurface platform have revolutionized optical cryptography, as the versatile design concept allows for unrestrained creativity. Despite rapid progresses, most efforts focus on the functionalities of cryptography rather than addressing performance issues, such as deep security, information capacity, and reconstruction quality. Here, we develop an optical encryption scheme by integrating visual cryptography with metasurface-assisted pattern masking, referred to as Stokes meta-hologram. Based on spatially structured polarization pattern masking, Stokes meta-hologram allows multichannel vectorial encryption to mask multiple secret images into unrecognizable visual patterns, and retrieve them following Stokes vector analysis. Further, an asymmetric encryption scheme based on Stokes vector rotation transformation is proposed to settle the inherent problem of the need to share the key in symmetric encryption. Our results show that Stokes meta-hologram can achieve optical cryptography with effectively improved security, and thereby paves a promising pathway toward optical and quantum security, optical communications, and anticounterfeiting.

We propose a generalized model for the creation of vector Bessel-Gauss (BG) beams having state of polarization (SoP) varying along the propagation direction. By engineering longitudinally varying Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phases of two constituent components with orthogonal polarizations, we create zeroth- and higher-order vector BG beams having (i) uniform polarizations in the transverse plane that change along z following either the equator or meridian of the Poincaré sphere and (ii) inhomogeneous polarizations in the transverse plane that rotate during propagation along z. Moreover, we evaluate the self-healing capability of these vector BG beams after two disparate obstacles. The self-healing capability of spatial SoP information may enrich the application of BG beams in light-matter interaction, polarization metrology and microscopy.

Pancharatnam–Berry (PB) phase has become an effective tool to realize the photonic spin Hall effect (PSHE) in recent years, due to its capacity of enhancing the spin-orbit interaction. Various forms of PSHEs have been proposed by tailoring the PB phase of light, however, the propagation trajectory control of the separated spin states has not been reported. In this paper, we realize the oscillated spin-dependent separation by using the well-designed PB phase optical elements based on the transverse-to-longitudinal mapping of Bessel beams. Two typical oscillated PSHEs, i.e., the spin states are circulated and reversed periodically, are experimentally demonstrated with two PB phase elements fabricated with liquid crystal. The displacements and periods of these oscillations can be controlled by changing the transverse vector of the input Bessel beam. The proposed method offers a new degree of freedom to manipulate the spin-dependent separation, and provides technical supports for the application in spin photonics.