Multiple-slit Diffraction of High-polarization-order Cylindrical Vector Beams

Multiple-slit diffraction properties of high-polarization-order cylindrical vector (HCV) beams were studied in detail. Flowerlike intensity distributions are obtained after HCV beams passing through a linear polarizer. The intensity distributions of single-slit, double-slit, triple-slit and four-slit diffraction of high-order radially polarized (HRP) beams and high-order azimuthally polarized (HAP) beams are obtained, and analyzed with different slit spacings. It was indicated that diffraction fringes of HCV beams were not continuous. Faultage appeared, and the faultage number was 2P+1, which was only related to the polarization order number P, but independent of slit number N. It was found that the obvious and clear diffraction phenomenon would be obtained in the conditions 2 omega(0) approximate to (N + 1)D, N >= 2, in which omega(0). is the beam waist radius and D is the slit spacing. This study can be used to detect and analyze higher-order vector beams. Besides, it helps to design special diffractive optical elements.