Shaping Airy beams by using tunable polarization holograms

Optical beam shaping has emerged as an important tool in optics and photonics applications. Here we present the generation of Airy beams by means of the spatial-light-modulator-assisted polarization holography technique. The polarization holograms (PHs) are recorded in a polarization-sensitive nematic liquid crystal cell. By exploiting the advantages of the PH's diffraction properties, such as the achromatic behavior, the high diffraction efficiency, and the polarization dependence, we experimentally generated Airy beams with diffraction efficiency of 91% at a wavelength of 633 nm.