Angular Lens

TL;DR

This paper introduces an angular lens that transforms different orbital angular momentum modes into distinct localized spots, enabling separation of modes for potential use in classical and quantum communication systems.

Contribution

A novel single phase-only optical element that separates OAM modes into localized spots, demonstrated through simulation and experimental validation.

Findings

Successfully simulates the angular lens with a spatial light modulator.

Experimentally demonstrates mode separation capability.

Potential applications in OAM-based communication systems.

Abstract

We propose a single phase-only optical element that transforms different orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes into localized spots at separated angular positions on a transverse plane. We refer to this element as an angular lens since it separates out OAM modes in a manner analogous to how a converging lens separates out transverse wave-vector modes at the focal plane. We also simulate the proposed angular lens using a spatial light modulator and experimentally demonstrate its working. Our work can have important implications for OAM-based classical and quantum communication applications.