Fast electrical switching of orbital angular momentum modes using ultra-compact integrated vortex emitters

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Quantum Information Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Rapid switching between orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes of light is crucial for advanced classical and quantum systems.
• Current methods rely on bulky free-space optics, with spatial light modulators offering millisecond reconfiguration times.
• Existing technologies face limitations in speed and compactness for dynamic OAM beam generation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate an extremely compact optical vortex emitter capable of actively tuning between different OAM modes.
• To achieve high-speed switching of OAM modes for enhanced optical communication and quantum applications.
• To develop a simplified, miniaturized device for on-demand OAM beam generation.

Main Methods:

• Development of a micron-scale optical vortex emitter.
• Utilized a single, electrically contacted thermo-optical element for active tuning of OAM modes.
• Integrated on-off keying and OAM mode switching functionalities into the compact device.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated an extremely compact optical vortex emitter with active OAM mode tuning capabilities.
• Achieved on-off keying at a rate of 10 microseconds.
• Successfully demonstrated OAM mode switching at a rate of 20 microseconds, significantly outperforming current methods.

Conclusions:

• The developed optical vortex emitter offers a highly compact and efficient solution for dynamic OAM mode control.
• The microsecond switching speeds pave the way for next-generation optical communication and quantum information processing systems.
• The thermo-optical tuning approach simplifies device design and integration, enabling practical applications.