• Advanced Photonics Nexus
  • Vol. 2, Issue 2, 026009 (2023)
Han Cao1、2, Guangyao Wang1, Lichao Zhang2, Qinggui Tan3, Wei Duan4、*, and Wei Hu1、*
Author Affiliations
  • 1Nanjing University, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, Nanjing, China
  • 2Nanhui Institute of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, Nanjing, China
  • 3China Academy of Space Technology, National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Space Microwave, Xi’an, China
  • 4Beihang University, School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beijing, China
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    DOI: 10.1117/1.APN.2.2.026009 Cite this Article Set citation alerts
    Han Cao, Guangyao Wang, Lichao Zhang, Qinggui Tan, Wei Duan, Wei Hu. Reflective optical vortex generators with ultrabroadband self-phase compensation[J]. Advanced Photonics Nexus, 2023, 2(2): 026009 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    The explosive growth of information urgently requires extending the capacity of optical communication and information processing. Orbital-angular-momentum-based mode division multiplexing (MDM) is recognized as the most promising technique to improve the bandwidth of a single fiber. To make it compatible with the dominant wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), broadband equal high-efficient phase encoding is highly pursued. Here, we propose a twisted-liquid-crystal and rear-mirror-based design for ultrabroadband reflective planar optics. The backtracking of the light inside the twisted birefringent medium leads to an achromatic phase modulation. With this design, a single-twisted reflective q-plate is demonstrated to convert a white beam to a polychromatic optical vortex. Jones calculus and vector beam characterization are carried out to analyze the broadband phase compensation. A dual-twisted configuration further extends the working band to over 600 nm. It supplies an ultrabroadband and reflective solution for the WDM/MDM-compatible elements and may significantly promote advances in ultrabroadband planar optics.

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    Supplementary Materials
    Han Cao, Guangyao Wang, Lichao Zhang, Qinggui Tan, Wei Duan, Wei Hu. Reflective optical vortex generators with ultrabroadband self-phase compensation[J]. Advanced Photonics Nexus, 2023, 2(2): 026009
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