Open Access
14 March 2023 Reflective optical vortex generators with ultrabroadband self-phase compensation
Han Cao, Guangyao Wang, Lichao Zhang, Qinggui Tan, Wei Duan, Wei Hu
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Abstract

The explosive growth of information urgently requires extending the capacity of optical communication and information processing. Orbital-angular-momentum-based mode division multiplexing (MDM) is recognized as the most promising technique to improve the bandwidth of a single fiber. To make it compatible with the dominant wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), broadband equal high-efficient phase encoding is highly pursued. Here, we propose a twisted-liquid-crystal and rear-mirror-based design for ultrabroadband reflective planar optics. The backtracking of the light inside the twisted birefringent medium leads to an achromatic phase modulation. With this design, a single-twisted reflective q-plate is demonstrated to convert a white beam to a polychromatic optical vortex. Jones calculus and vector beam characterization are carried out to analyze the broadband phase compensation. A dual-twisted configuration further extends the working band to over 600 nm. It supplies an ultrabroadband and reflective solution for the WDM/MDM-compatible elements and may significantly promote advances in ultrabroadband planar optics.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE and CLP under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.
Han Cao, Guangyao Wang, Lichao Zhang, Qinggui Tan, Wei Duan, and Wei Hu "Reflective optical vortex generators with ultrabroadband self-phase compensation," Advanced Photonics Nexus 2(2), 026009 (14 March 2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.APN.2.2.026009
Received: 23 December 2022; Accepted: 13 February 2023; Published: 14 March 2023
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CITATIONS
Cited by 3 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Spiral phase plates

Optical vortices

Design and modelling

Photonics

Phase modulation

Polarization

Liquid crystals

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