Metasurface-enabled generation and mapping of perfect vector vortex beams on hybrid-order and higher-order Poincaré spheres for optical encryption

Perfect vector vortex beams (PVVBs) combine the ring-shaped intensity profile of perfect vortex beams with spatially variant polarization states, enabling precise control of light fields. Conventional superposition strategies of PVVBs based only on the hybrid-order Poincaré sphere (HyOPS) are restricted in accessible states, limiting beam tunability. In this work, we focus on the generation and mapping of PVVBs that can be described within both HyOPS and the higher-order Poincaré sphere (HOPS), with a continuous sequence of integer topological charges (TCs) providing an integrated framework for structured light manipulation. This method facilitates the generation of gradient-TCs PVVBs (GTPVVBs) with non-uniformly spaced intensity petals, dynamically modulated via incident polarization and further tuned by initial phase design. As a proof of concept, optical information encryption is demonstrated using GTPVVB arrays encoded via polarization states and initial phases. These beams hold significant promise for applications in optical trapping, optical communications, and advanced optical encryption.