Abstract

First, it is demonstrated that with a c-cut Ti:sapphire crystal the generation of a nonpolarized laser beam is possible, in contrast to the conventional a-cut Ti:sapphire crystal, which produces a linearly polarized beam. Second, the generation of a radially polarized Ti:sapphire laser beam is demonstrated in combination with a c-cut $\mathrm{Y}\mathrm{V}{\mathrm{O}}_4$ crystal used as a selector of radial polarization.

© 2008 Optical Society of America