Acousto-optic modulated vortex beam with tunable topological charge

TL;DR

This paper presents a device that generates tunable optical vortex beams with high-frequency modulation and adjustable topological charge, enabling advanced applications in light communication and optomechanics.

Contribution

The authors introduce a novel acousto-optic device that produces high-frequency modulated vortex beams with tunable topological charge from 1 to 13 and beyond.

Findings

Generated vortex beams around 4 GHz frequency

Achieved tunable topological charge from 1 to 13

Device offers electrical control and on-chip integration

Abstract

Controlling the symmetry of optical and mechanical waves is pivotal to their full exploitation in technological applications and topology-linked fundamental physics experiments. Leveraging on the control of orbital angular momentum, we introduce here a device forming super-high-frequency-modulated optical vortex beams via acousto-optic interaction of light with acoustic vortices. Originated by shape-engineering of a single-contact bulk acoustic wave resonator, we generate vortices in a wide band of frequencies around 4 GHz and with frequency/geometrically tunable topological charge from 1 to 13 and beyond. With all electrical control and on-chip integration our device offers new solutions for angular-momentum-based light communication, three-dimensional particle manipulation, as well as novel interaction schemes for optomechanical devices.