Focusing of pseudoradial polarized beams

The focusing of a light beam with radial polarization has substantial advantages as the irradiance distribution in the focal plane is symmetric and there is maximum absorption at the focus. Using half wave plates cut into four quadrants with each quadrant having a linear polarization directed outwards gives a total field that approximates radial polarization, called pseudoradial polarization. The irradiance distributions in the focal region for different polarizations and beam profiles are compared. The irradiance is calculated by the numerical integration of the two-dimensional Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction integral of the first kind using the 2DSC method for both circular and annular apertures. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.