Order Laguerre-Gaussian Research Articles

Intrinsic angular momentum, spin and helicity of higher-order Poincaré modes

Abstract The availability of coherent sources of higher order Poincaré optical beams have opened up new opportunities for applications such as in the optical trapping of atoms and small particles, the manipulation of chirally-sensitive systems and in improved encoding schemes for broad-bandwidth communications. Here we determine the intrinsic properties of integer order m ⩾ 0 Poincaré Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) modes which have so far neither been evaluated, nor their significance highlighted. The theoretical framework we adopt here is both novel and essential because it emphasises the crucial role played by the normally ignored axial components of the twisted light fields of these modes. We show that the inclusion of the axial field components enables the intrinsic properties of the Poincaré modes, notably their angular momentum, both spin and orbital as well as their helicity and chirality, to be determined. We predict significant enhancements of the intrinsic properties of these modes when compared with those due to the zero order LG modes. In particular, we show that higher order LG Poincaré modes exhibit super-chirality and, significantly so, even in the case of the first order m = 1.

Realization of 4 × 200 Gbps 4-QAM OFDM-OWC System Using Higher Order OAM Modes for HAP-to-Satellites Scenario

Recently, there has been an increase in interest in using optical wireless communication (OWC) links on high-altitude platforms (HAPs) for satellite applications. We implement an orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexed orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system using an OWC link. A space-to-air scenario is considered in which transmission pointing errors, geometric loss, turbulence, and additional link losses are taken into account to extend the transmission range, system capacity, and throughput. At 200 Gbps per channel data rate, four different OAM modes are implemented with higher order Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) modes of [0,0], [0,13], [0,40], and [0,80]. An aggregate 800 Gbps data rate can deliver a maximum OWC range of 3300–5000 km for all channels. The maximum received power over the 1000 km range is −19.34 to −32.59 dBm with an additional gain of 0–2.5 dB. It is also possible to obtain a better performance over large distances of 500–3500 km with an error vector magnitude of 2.98–17.5%. Furthermore, a high gain of −40.80 dB, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 55.21 dB, and an optical SNR of 67.25 dB can be achieved for varied transmitter pointing errors of 0.1 rad. As compared to other literature, this system exhibits a superior performance.

Carrier optical vortex interferometer using segmentation demodulation method for dynamic measurement of axisymmetric surface deformation

The dynamic measurement of surface deformation with an axisymmetric profile at nanometer- to micrometer-scale is of great interest in understanding micromechanical and thermophysical dynamics. We propose a carrier optical vortex interferometer (COVI) to measure such surface deformation dynamically by segmentation demodulation of the petal-like interferogram that is produced by the coaxial superposition of conjugated p-radial order Laguerre–Gaussian beams. Specifically, a rotating chopper placed at the exit of the interferometer introduces a carrier frequency in the absence of surface deformation. A camera placed behind the chopper uses a multi-ring segmentation detection scheme to produce a Doppler shift relative to the carrier frequency at the radius of each ring in the presence of axisymmetric surface deformation. Locating the Doppler shifts gives the surface deformation velocities at those radii. Thus, the dynamic surface deformation profile can be obtained by integrating the velocities over time. We reveal the basic principles of the carrier frequency and the Doppler shifts in the COVI theoretically. As a proof-of-concept, an external force-induced axisymmetric mechanical surface deformation is measured dynamically to demonstrate the validity of the COVI. The results show that the measurement error of the surface deformation velocity is within (−2.1, 1.1 nm/s) for the velocity ranging from 20 to 86 nm/s. The lower limit of the measurable velocity can reach 20 nm/s. The measurement error of the surface deformation profile is less than 2.5 nm for the amplitude of the surface deformation of 500 nm.

Self-focusing of low order LG laser beam in Gaussian plasma

Laguerre Gaussian (LG) laser beam propagations is presented to investigate the self-focusing in collision-less Gaussian plasma. This is by deriving the equations supporting self-focusing in plasma mediums by using WKB approximation. Additionally, a range of values of laser-plasma parameters which would fulfil these equations is considered. For the scenario of Gaussian and collision-less plasma, the study is contrasted. By utilizing a low order Laguerre Gaussian laser beam is more exciting as compare to using a Gaussian laser because it incorporates the propagation specific characters of Laguerre Gaussian Laser Beam. The observations are appeared in term of early self-focusing with LG laser beam. The investigation is expected to unfold the new and more effective scenario for self-focusing in plasma.

Guiding of Laguerre–Gaussian pulses in high-order plasma channels

In laser wakefield accelerators, guiding of drive laser pulses in preformed plasma channels plays a key role to overcome laser diffraction for effective acceleration. Different from guiding schemes studied previously, where a Gaussian laser pulse and a parabolic plasma channel were investigated, here we investigate the guiding of Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) pulses in plasma channels. Analytical studies and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that the matched conditions still exist for high order laser pulses and high order plasma channels. For usual Gaussian and high order LG pulses, the second order parabolic channel gives the best guiding. Although the laser pulse can also be guided in even higher order channels, its envelope deforms during propagation. For laser pulses with combined multi-LG modes, determined by their azimuthal orbit angular momenta, there is axisymmetric or non-axisymmetric evolution for the transverse laser intensity profile. The preformed plasma channel can guide the combined pulses but the transverse intensity profile of the laser pulses always evolves.

Spatially dependent optical bistability

The effect of the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light beams on the optical bistability (OB) phenomenon has been investigated in a three-level quantum system. In a first step, we consider a Λ -type configuration in which the coupling field is assumed as a Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) beam. It is shown that the OB strength spatially depends on the intensity profile as well as the topological charge (TC) of the light beam. In a second scheme, we apply a strong microwave field to the lower level transition and obtain an analytical expression for the OB behavior of the probe field in the presence of an LG field in the multi-photon resonance condition. We analytically obtain a generalized input–output bistability relation for the systems containing the LG beam. More complicated phase-dependent OB profiles can be obtained for higher order LG modes due to the OAM transfer and classical interference between the generated field and applied fields. The results of this paper may provide a potential application of OB in generating simultaneously reconfigurable sets of various optical logic gates in the same structure, as well as in enhancing the capacity of fast volatile bit-level optical memories.

A Low-Divergence Circularly Polarized Dual-Mode OAM Antenna Based on Higher Order Laguerre–Gaussian Modes

An open resonator antenna for orbital angular momentum (OAM) generation and dual-mode application is proposed. The excitation of OAM mode is deduced by the open resonator theory and the circular array theory. In the cavity, eight aperture coupled patch antenna elements are used to excite two higher-order Laguerre-Gaussian HE <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">21</sub> modes with a 90° phase difference. Verifying by simulation and experiment, the proposed low-profile antenna can radiate left-hand or right-hand circularly polarized waves of OAM modes l=±1, which have a relatively low divergence angle of ±9° and high gain of around 13 dBi.

Sampling a vortex from a Gaussian beam using a wedge-plate shearing interferometer.

Many vortex-generation techniques have been developed to address a range of potential applications, exploiting their unique amplitude and phase profiles and their possession of orbital angular momentum. In this work, we present what may be the simplest method of vortex beam generation, requiring only a wedged optic: the wedge-plate shearing interferometer (WPSI). We show that the WPSI can reflect a first order Laguerre-Gaussian vortex beam (LG01) with a theoretical purity of >99% from an input fundamental Gaussian beam, with 98% LG01 purity experimentally demonstrated. We demonstrate 1% power conversion with a route to 14%. The monolithic WPSI is a simple, compact, and highly stable device, which can operate at any wavelength that the material is transparent to. We anticipate that it will be useful where sampling a robust, high-purity vortex beam from a Gaussian laser beam is required, including low-cost vortex generation for metrology or education.

Selective tuning of Hilbert spaces in states encoded with spatial modes of light

Spatial modes of light directly give the most easily accessible degree of freedom that span an infinite dimensional Hilbert space. The higher dimensional spatial mode entanglement realized using spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) process is generally restricted to the subspace defined by a single spatial mode in pump. Access to other modal subspaces can be realized by pumping beams carrying several easily tunable transverse modes. As a proof of principle experiment, we generate twin-photon states in an SPDC process with pump as a superposition of first order Laguerre–Gaussian (or Hermite–Gaussian) modes. We show that the generated states can be easily tuned between different subspaces by controlling the respective modal content in the pump superposition.

Incoherent beam combination of low order Laguerre–Gaussian beams propagating in turbulent atmosphere

An incoherent beam combination of lower order Laguerre–Gaussian beams is analytically modeled and analyzed in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. For purpose of analysis, 44 individual laser elements are considered and intensity profile of the combined beam is analyzed at regular distances from the source. The resultant intensity is then compared with the similarly combined Gaussian beams. It is found that while combined intensity of LG10 mode is greater than that of Gaussian for lower propagation distance, it becomes less than Gaussian for distances greater than 3 km from the source. LG01 mode, on the other hand, shows considerably higher combined intensity as compared to Gaussian even at a distance of 10 km from the source, thus making them a viable prospect for high power directed energy systems.

Mode-dependent crosstalk and detection probability of orbital angular momentum of optical vortex beam through atmospheric turbulence

The crosstalk of orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes is one of the most important issues for free-space optical communication. We theoretically derive a crosstalk model for Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) vortex beams propagating in turbulent atmosphere. The calculated crosstalk of different OAM modes in different turbulence by analytical expression is consistent with experimental measurements. Both theoretical and experimental results reveal that the crosstalk of high order LG vortex beams is more obvious in atmospheric turbulence. Different from the numerical calculation of the integral expression of the previous studies, this analytical expression can directly and quantitatively characterize the crosstalk and the law of different topological charges in vortex beams. Based on this analytical expression, the crosstalk widths of vortex beams with different topological charges can be calculated accurately, so that the optimal sets of OAM modes can be found more easily under each atmospheric turbulence condition.

Direct Generation of a Laguerre-Gaussian-Mode Optical Vortex Beam in a Single-Frequency Nd:YVO4 Unidirectional Ring Laser

A single-frequency, unidirectional ring laser with a first order Laguerre-Gaussian (LG01) mode output end-pumped by using a ring-shaped pump beam is reported. This approach has been applied to a diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser in a traveling wave resonator configuration yielding 2.1 W and 1.5 W of single-frequency LG01 mode outputs with helical wavefronts of left- and right-handedness, respectively. Moreover, we show that its wavefront helicity can be switched by changing the lasing direction and frequency. The selection mechanism of the wavefront helicity and the prospects of this approach are discussed.

Harnessing the mode mixing in optical fiber-tip cavities

We present a systematic numerical study of Fabry–Pérot optical cavities with Gaussian-shape mirrors formed between tips of optical fibers. Such cavities can be fabricated by laser machining of fiber tips and are promising systems for achieving strong coupling between atomic particles and an optical field as required for quantum information applications. Using a mode mixing matrix method, we analyze the cavity optical eigenmodes and corresponding losses depending on a range of cavity-shape parameters, such as mirror radius of curvature, indentation depth and cavity length. The Gaussian shape of the mirrors causes mixing of optical modes in the cavity. We investigate the effect of the mode mixing on the coherent atom-cavity coupling as well as the mode matching between the cavity and a single-mode optical fiber. While the mode mixing is associated with increased cavity losses, it can also lead to an enhancement of the local optical field. We demonstrate that around the resonance between the fundamental and 2nd order Laguerre–Gaussian modes of the cavity it is possible to obtain 50% enhancement of the atom-cavity coupling at the cavity center while still maintaining low cavity losses and high cavity-fiber optical coupling.

Excitation of Mode Groups in Multimode Fibers With the Aid of Diffractive Optics

In this letter, we report on the excitation of low order Laguerre–Gaussian mode groups with a common propagation constant in a multimode gradient index optical fiber. Enabling generic space-division multiplexer was based on a key multichannel diffractive optical element. The experimental results show integrity of the excited mode groups in an OM2 multimode fiber optic patch cord.

Transcoder for the spatial and temporal modes of a photon.

Encoding information in light with orbital angular momentum (OAM) enables networks to increase channel capacity significantly. However, light in only the fundamental Gaussian mode is suitable for fibre transmission, and not higher order Laguerre Gaussian modes, which carry OAM. Therefore, building a bridge to interface light with OAM and Gaussian mode time-binning is crucially important. Here, we report the realization of a photonic transcoder, by which light with an arbitrary OAM superposition is experimentally converted into a time-bin Gaussian pulse, and vice versa. Furthermore, we clearly demonstrate that coherence is well conserved and there is no cross-talk between orthogonal modes. This photonic device is simple and can be built with scalable architecture. Our experimental demonstration paves the way towards a mixed optical communication in free-space and optical fibre.

Investigations on ring-shaped pumping distributions for the generation of beams with radial polarization in an Yb:YAG thin-disk laser.

We present experimental investigations on the generation of radially polarized laser beams excited by a ring-shaped pump intensity distribution in combination with polarizing grating waveguide mirrors in an Yb:YAG thin-disk laser resonator. Hollow optical fiber components were implemented in the pump beam path to transform the commonly used flattop pumping distribution into a ring-shaped distribution. The investigation was focused on finding the optimum mode overlap between the ring-shaped pump spot and the excited first order Laguerre-Gaussian (LG(01)) doughnut mode. The power, efficiency and polarization state of the emitted laser beam as well as the thermal behavior of the disk was compared to that obtained with a standard flattop pumping distribution. A maximum output power of 107 W with a high optical efficiency of 41.2% was achieved by implementing a 300 mm long specially manufactured hollow fiber into the pump beam path. Additionally it was found that at a pump power of 280 W the maximum temperature increase is about 21% below the one observed with standard homogeneous pumping.

Actively Q-switched and vortex Nd:YAG laser

We reported an efficient and actively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser that emitted the first order Laguerre–Gaussian mode with right-handedness helical wavefront. In the experiment, the pump light was converted into annular profile through off-focus coupling in a conventional multi-mode fiber. The laser cavity, consisting of a laser crystal and an output coupler and incorporating an acousto-optic Q switch and an etalon, was simple and compact. The Q-switched performance of the laser was given in detail.

Highly efficient second harmonic generation of a light carrying orbital angular momentum in an external cavity.

Traditional methods for generating a light carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) include the use of holographic diffraction gratings, vortex phase plates and spatial light modulators. Here we report a new method for highly efficient second-harmonic generation (SHG) of a light with OAM. By properly aligning an external cavity that contains a quasi-phase matching nonlinear crystal and pumping it with a light carrying OAM, mode matching between the pump light and the cavity's higher order Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) mode is achieved, SHG with a conversion efficiency of up to 10.3% is obtained. We have demonstrated for the first time that the cavity can stably operate at its higher order LG mode similar to that of a Gaussian mode. The second harmonic generated light has an OAM value that is double with respected to the OAM value of the pump light. The parameters that affect the beam quality and conversion efficiency are discussed in detail. Our work opens a brand new field in laser optics and makes the first step toward high efficiency processing using a light carrying OAM.

High-power Er:YAG laser with quasi-top-hat output beam

A simple method for simultaneously exciting the fundamental (TEM00) transverse mode and first order Laguerre-Gaussian (LG01) donut mode in an end-pumped solid-state laser to yield a quasi-top-hat output beam is reported. This approach has been applied to an Er:YAG laser, in-band pumped by an Er,Yb fiber laser, yielding 9.6 W of continuous-wave output at 1645 nm in a top-hat-like beam with beam propagation factor (M2)<2.1 for 24 W of incident pump power at 1532 nm. The corresponding slope efficiency with respect to incident pump power was 49%. The prospects of further scaling of output power and improved overall efficiency are considered.

Influence of realistic parameters on state-of-the-art laser wakefield accelerator experiments

We examine the influence of non-ideal plasma-density and non-Gaussian transverse laser-intensity profiles in the laser wakefield accelerator analytically and numerically. We find that the characteristic amplitude and scale length of longitudinal density fluctuations impact on the final energies achieved by electron bunches. Conditions that minimize the role of the longitudinal plasma-density fluctuations are found. The influence of higher order Laguerre–Gaussian laser pulses is also investigated. We find that higher order laser modes typically lead to lower energy gains. Certain combinations of higher order modes may, however, lead to higher electron energy gains.