Fast switchable electro-optic radial polarization retarder

A fast and switchable electro-optic radial polarization retarder (EO-RPR) fabricated using the electro-optic ceramic Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-PbTiO(3) is presented. This EO-RPR is useful for fast and switchable generation of a 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 time, low driving voltage, and transparency in a wide spectral range (500 to 7,000 nm).