Refractive elements for the measurement of the orbital angular momentum of a single photon

We have developed a mode transformer comprising two custom refractive optical elements which convert orbital angular momentum states into transverse momentum states. This transformation allows for an efficient measurement of the orbital angular momentum content of an input light beam. We characteris...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics express 2012-01, Vol.20 (3), p.2110-2115
Main Authors: Lavery, Martin P J, Robertson, David J, Berkhout, Gregorius C G, Love, Gordon D, Padgett, Miles J, Courtial, Johannes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer Simulation
Computer-Aided Design
Equipment Design
Equipment Failure Analysis
Lenses
Light
Lighting - instrumentation
Models, Theoretical
Photons
Refractometry - instrumentation
Scattering, Radiation
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Summary:We have developed a mode transformer comprising two custom refractive optical elements which convert orbital angular momentum states into transverse momentum states. This transformation allows for an efficient measurement of the orbital angular momentum content of an input light beam. We characterise the channel capacity of the system for 50 input modes, giving a maximum value of 3.46 bits per photon. Using an electron multiplying CCD (EMCCD) camera with a laser source attenuated such that on average there is less than one photon present within the system per measurement period, we demonstrate that the elements are efficient for the use in single photon experiments.
ISSN:1094-4087
1094-4087
DOI:10.1364/oe.20.002110