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

Lavery, Martin P.J.; Robertson, David J.; Berkhout, Gregorius C.G.; Love, Gordon D.; Padgett, Miles J.; Courtial, Johannes

doi:10.1364/oe.20.002110

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

Lavery, Martin P.J.; Robertson, David J.; Berkhout, Gregorius C.G.; Love, Gordon D.; Padgett, Miles J.; Courtial, Johannes

Authors

Martin P.J. Lavery

David J. Robertson

Gregorius C.G. Berkhout

Gordon D. Love

Miles J. Padgett

Johannes Courtial

Abstract

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.

Citation

Lavery, M. P., Robertson, D. J., Berkhout, G. C., Love, G. D., Padgett, M. J., & Courtial, J. (2012). Refractive elements for the measurement of the orbital angular momentum of a single photon. Optics Express, 20(3), 2110-2115. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.20.002110

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Dec 2, 2011
Online Publication Date	Jan 30, 2012
Publication Date	2012
Deposit Date	Feb 26, 2012
Publicly Available Date	Nov 29, 2012
Journal	Optics Express
Publisher	Optica
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	20
Issue	3
Pages	2110-2115
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.20.002110

Files

Published Journal Article (1.6 Mb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
© 2012 The Optical Society. This paper was published in Optics express and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.20.002110. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.