Self‐Healing Helical Vector Beams Enabled by Spin‐Decoupled Metasurfaces

ABSTRACT Structured light fields with tailored phase and polarization distributions enable advanced optical functionalities in beam shaping, optical manipulation, and information encoding. Here, we introduce and experimentally demonstrate helical vector beams, structured fields that merge the spatial polarization structure of vector beams with the self‐accelerating spiral dynamics of accelerating waves. A single spin‐decoupled metasurface independently controls the optical response of left‐ and right‐handed circular polarizations. By engineering dynamic and geometric phase contributions, the metasurface independently prescribes the three‐dimensional beam trajectory and local polarization order. This enables programmable spiral trajectories, propagation‐dependent polarization orders, and opposite topological classes. Telecom‐wavelength metasurfaces are designed by full‐wave simulations, fabricated by electron‐beam lithography and reactive ion etching, and characterized through propagation‐resolved intensity measurements and spatially resolved Stokes polarimetry. Quantitative beam‐center tracking and Stokes reconstruction confirm the designed trajectories, polarization‐order evolution, and integer polarization windings. Obstruction experiments further demonstrate self‐healing of both the spatial profile and programmed vectorial state. By combining accelerating‐beam dynamics with vectorial polarization control in a compact planar platform, this work establishes independent control of propagation trajectory and transverse polarization structure and provides a scalable route toward advanced structured‐light photonics.