Nonlinear optical detection of the orbital angular momentum of light

TL;DR

This paper introduces a nonlinear optical method using stimulated Raman scattering to detect and discriminate the orbital angular momentum of light beams, enhancing capabilities in optical communication and sensing.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach leveraging stimulated Raman scattering to measure OAM magnitude, demonstrating effective discrimination of vortex beams through nonlinear optical techniques.

Findings

Numerical simulations confirm the feasibility of the method.

Experimental results validate the discrimination of different OAM states.

The approach can improve optical communication and sensing applications.

Abstract

Optical beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) have gained significant interest due to their unique properties, enhancing various communication systems and enabling applications such as the characterization of material or molecular chirality. Generating and detecting the OAM of light is thus crucial for numerous applications but poses challenges. This paper proposes a method utilizing stimulated Raman scattering to detect the magnitude of OAM. By exploring the strong Raman coupling between the pump and Stokes beams in higher-order Laguerre-Gauss modes, we demonstrate the discrimination of different optical vortex beams through nonlinear optical measurements. Numerical and experimental results support the feasibility of this approach, potentially advancing optical communication and sensing technologies.