Generation of optical vortices with the same topological charges and controllable separation distances using diffraction gratings

Abstract

In this paper, we first generate optical vortices with different topological charges, using the method of computer-generated holograms. Then, we separate one of the optical vortices from others with a special topological charge and pass it through a diffraction grating with a specified line spacing. It is observed that the vortex beam, after passing through the grating, converts to several separated vortices with the same topological charge whose value is similar to the topological charge of the input vortex. Finally, we show that the distance between generated vortices can be controlled with the variation of spacing between grating lines. So, the proposed setup in this paper can be exploited as an optical vortex divider which is useful in communication and trapping systems.