Abstract: A prior simulation-only study of aspherical phase profiles [Hornburg et al, Proc SPIE 10743, 10743-4 (2018)] in geometric-phase lenses (GPLs) indicated that aspherical doublet lens systems should provide substantially improved off-axis performance than those using spherical phase profiles. In this work, we fabricate a liquid crystal GPL doublet (24.5 mm diameter, 40 mm back focal length at 633 nm) and compare it to with a reference spherical GPL singlet. We characterized the liquid crystal alignment quality, efficiencies, and spot performance. With these compact GP lens systems, we realize improved performance for wider fields of view, while maintaining low loss.
K. J. Hornburg, X. Xiang, J. Kim, M. W. Kudenov, and M. J. Escuti, “Design and fabrication of an aspheric geometric-phase lens doublet,” in Liquid Crystals Xxii, I. C. Khoo, ed. (Spie-Int Soc Optical Engineering, 2018), 10735, p. UNSP 1073513.