Effective sorting of fractional optical vortex modes

The mode sorter is the crucial component of the communication systems based on orbital angular momentum(OAM).However,schemes proposed so far can only effectively sort integer OAM(IOAM)modes.Here,we demonstrate the effective sorting of fractional OAM(FOAM)modes by utilizing the coordinate transformation method,which can convert FOAM modes to IOAM modes.The transformed IOAM modes are subsequently sorted using a mode conversion method called topological charge matching.The validation of our scheme is verified by implementing two FOAM sorting processes and corresponding mode purity analyses,both theoretically and experimentally.This new sorting method exhibits great potential for implementing a highly confidential and high-capacity FOAM-based communication and data storage system,which may inspire further applications in both classical and quantum regimes.

Bessel–Gauss photon beams with fractional order vortex propagation in weak non-Kolmogorov turbulence

We model the effects of weak fluctuations on the probability densities and normalized powers of vortex models for the Bessel–Gauss photon beam with fractional topological charge in the paraxial non-Kolmogorov turbulence channel. We find that probability density of signal vortex models is a function of deviation from the center of the photon beam, and the farther away from the beam center it is, the smaller the probability density is. For fractional topological charge, the average probability densities of signal/crosstalk vortex modes oscillate along the beam radius except the half-integer order. As the beam waist of the photon source grows, the average probability density of signal and crosstalk vortex modes grow together. Moreover, the peak of the average probability density of crosstalk vortex modes shifts outward from the beam center as the beam waist gets larger. The results also show that the smaller index of non-Kolmogorov turbulence and the smaller generalized refractive-index structure parameter may lead to the higher average probability densities of signal vortex modes and lower average probability densities of crosstalk vortex modes. Lower-coherence radius or beam waist can give rise to less reduction of the normalized powers of the signal vortex modes, which is opposite to the normalized powers of crosstalk vortex modes.

Probing the fractional topological charge of a vortex light beam by using dynamic angular double slits

Vortex beams with fractional topological charge(FTC) have many special characteristics and novel applications.However, one of the obstacles for their application is the difficulty of precisely determining the FTC of fractional vortex beams. We find that when a vortex beam with an FTC illuminates a dynamic angular double slit(ADS), the far-field interference patterns that include the information of the FTC of the beam at the angular bisector direction of the ADS vary periodically. Based on this property, a simple dynamic ADS device and data fitting method can be used to precisely measure the FTC of a vortex light beam with an error of less than 5%.