Focal shift and focal switch of partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model beams passing through a system with the aperture and spherically aberrated lens separated

Based on the beam coherent-polarization (BCP) matrix approach and propagation law of partially coherent beams, the focal shift and focal switch of partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model (PGSM) beams passing through a system with the aperture and spherically aberrated lens separated is studied in detail. Our main attention is focused on the effect of spherical aberration and partial coherence on the focal shift and focal switch of PGSM beams. It is shown that for polarizer-free case there is no focal switch of PGSM beams, the focal shift of PGSM beams is closely related with spherical aberration coefficient C₄, auto-coherence length σ_a, truncation parameter δ and relative position s/f between the aperture and lens in general, and is independent of the cross-coherence length σ_c. After inserting a polarizer the focal switch can take place. Numerical calculation results are given to illustrate how the spherical aberration and partial coherence affect the focal shift and focal switch of PGSM beams.