Diffractive optics for combined spatial- and mode- division demultiplexing of optical vortices: design, fabrication and optical characterization.

ABSTRACT: During the last decade, the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light has attracted growing interest as a new degree of freedom for signal channel multiplexing in order to increase the information transmission capacity in today's optical networks. Here we present the design, fabrication and characterization of phase-only diffractive optical elements (DOE) performing mode-division (de)multiplexing (MDM) and spatial-division (de)multiplexing (SDM) at the same time. Samples have been fabricated with high-resolution electron-beam lithography patterning a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) resist layer spun over a glass substrate. Different DOE designs are presented for the sorting of optical vortices differing in either OAM content or beam size in the optical regime, with different steering geometrie

SUBMITTER: Ruffato G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4837364 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature