Abstract: | Propagation of a linearly polarized partially coherent dark hollow beam (DHB) through a high numerical aperture (NA) thin lens is formulated. The tight focusing properties, such as the degree of polarization, the intensity distribution, and the degree of coherence, of a partially coherent DHB are investigated in detail. It is found that the focusing properties of a partially coherent DHB are closely determined by the initial coherence, beam order, and the NA of the thin lens. |