Generation of a controllable multifocal array from a modulated azimuthally polarized beam

In this Letter, the focal spot areas of an azimuthally polarized beam modulated with a vortex-0-2π-phase plate or a π-phase-step plate are numerically found to be smaller than a radially polarized beam for three pupil functions with uniform, Gaussian, and Bessel-Gauss profiles. Several types of multizone phase plates are theoretically designed and numerically simulated for generating tight multifocal arrays from the azimuthally polarized beams for what we believe is the first time. The positions and polarization states of the multifocal arrays can be controlled simply by varying the pattern of the multizone plates. The produced multifocal array with controllable position and polarization is beneficial to parallel optical recording and parallel optical imaging.