Optical mode conversion in coupled Fabry-Perot resonators

Low-loss conversion among a complete and orthogonal set of optical modes is important for high-bandwidth quantum and classical communication. In this Letter, we explore tunable impedance mismatch between coupled Fabry-Perot resonators as a powerful tool for manipulation of the spatial and temporal properties of optical fields. In the single-mode regime, frequency-dependent impedance matching enables tunable finesse optical resonators. Introducing the spatial dependence of the impedance mismatch enables coherent spatial mode conversion of optical photons at near-unity efficiency. We experimentally demonstrate a NIR resonator whose finesse is tunable over a decade, and an optical mode converter with efficiency >75% for the first six Hermite-Gauss modes. We anticipate that this new perspective on coupled multimode resonators will have exciting applications in micro- and nano-photonics and computer-aided inverse design.