arXiv · 1805.00516
Mapping Twisted Light into and out of a Photonic Chip
Abstract
Twisted light carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) provides an additional degree of freedom for modern optics and an emerging resource for both classical and quantum information technologies. Its inherently infinite dimensions can potentially be exploited by using mode multiplexing to enhance data capacity for sustaining the unprecedented growth in big data and internet traffic, and can be encoded to build large-scale quantum computing machines in high-dimensional Hilbert space. While the emission of twisted light from the surface of integrated devices to free space has been widely investigated, the transmission and processing inside a photonic chip remain to be addressed. Here, we present the first laser-direct-written waveguide being capable of supporting OAM modes and experimentally demonstrate a faithful mapping of twisted light into and out of a photonic chip. The states OAM$_{0}$, OAM$_{-1}$, OAM$_{+1}$ and their superpositions can transmit through the photonic chip with a total efficiency up to 60% with minimal crosstalk. In addition, we present the transmission of quantum twisted light states of single photons and measure the output states with single-photon imaging. Our results may add OAM as a new degree of freedom to be transmitted and manipulated in a photonic chip for high-capacity communication and high-dimensional quantum information processing.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Yuan Chen, Jun Gao, Zhi-Qiang Jiao, Ke Sun, Wei-Guan Shen, Lu-Feng Qiao, Hao Tang, Xiao-Feng Lin, Xian-Min Jin. 2018-05-01. Mapping Twisted Light into and out of a Photonic Chip. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.121.233602
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.