Generation of Cylindrical-Vector Beams Using a Dual Slow-Axis Liquid Crystal Spatial Light Modulator

Commercially available liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) spatial light modulators (SLMs) typically consist of a liquid crystal (LC) cell that controls the wavefront of polarized light along its slow axis. In this work, we introduce a dual slow-axis (DSA) SLM based on LCoS technology. This configuration enables independent control of the phase delay for both orthogonally polarized components of light. This device is referred to as DSA SLM, since it contains two cascaded LC cells with their slow axes oriented perpendicular to each other. The proposed method's functionality has been verified through experimental and simulation studies. The versatile functionality of DSA SLM can be useful for various applications where polarization-dependent light modulation is needed.