Electrically tunable generation of vectorial vortex beams with micro-patterned liquid crystal structures

We develop a new method for smooth and continuous space-variant alignment of the liquid crystal medium in micro-patterned structures, which is based on a radial micro-structured pattern of polymeric ribbons exhibiting out-of-plane orientation with respect to the ITO-coated glass plates. Thanks to the broad range of electrical tunability of the optical retardation for the micro-patterned liquid crystal structures, transformation of the fundamental Gaussian beam into different types of specific beams, including generalized cylindrical vector beams, vortex beams, and vectorial vortex beams, is efficiently demonstrated.