Fast switchable electro-optic radial polarization retarder

A fast, switchable electro-optic radial polarization retarder (EO-RPR) fabricated using the electro-optic ceramic PMN-PT is presented. This EO-RPR is useful for fast, switchable generation of pure cylindrical vector beam. When used together with a pair of half-wave plates, the EO-RPR can change circularly polarized light into any cylindrical vector beam of interest such as radially or azimuthally polarized light. Radially and azimuthally polarized light with purities greater than 95% are generated experimentally. The advantages of using EO-RPR include fast response times, low driving voltage and transparency in a wide spectral range (500 -7000 nm).