Near-perfect measuring of full-field transverse-spatial modes of light

Referenceless characterization of complex media using physics-informed neural networks

In this work, we present a method to characterize the transmission matrices of complex scattering media using a physics-informed, multi-plane neural network (MPNN) without the requirement of a known optical reference field. We use this method to accurately measure the transmission matrix of a commercial multi-mode fiber without the problems of output-phase ambiguity and dark spots, leading to up to 58% improvement in focusing efficiency compared with phase-stepping holography. We demonstrate how our method is significantly more noise-robust than phase-stepping holography and show how it can be generalized to characterize a cascade of transmission matrices, allowing one to control the propagation of light between independent scattering media. This work presents an essential tool for accurate light control through complex media, with applications ranging from classical optical networks, biomedical imaging, to quantum information processing.

Radial-mode sensitive probe beam in the rotational Doppler effect

The rotational Doppler effect (RDE) attracts much attention in various research areas, from acoustics to optics. The observation of RDE mostly depends on the orbital angular momentum of the probe beam, while the impression of radial mode is ambiguous. To clarify the role of radial modes in RDE detection, we reveal the mechanism of interaction between probe beams and rotating objects based on complete Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) modes. It is theoretically and experimentally proved that radial LG modes play a crucial role in RDE observation because of topological spectroscopic orthogonality between probe beams and objects. We enhance the probe beam by employing multiple radial LG modes, which makes the RDE detection sensitive to objects containing complicated radial structures. In addition, a specific method to estimate the efficiency of various probe beams is proposed. This work has the potential to modify RDE detection method and take the related applications to a new platform.

High-efficiency interface between multi-mode and single-mode fibers

Multi-mode fibers (MMFs) and single-mode fibers (SMFs) are widely used in optical communication networks. MMFs are the practical choice in terms of cost in applications that require short distances. Beyond that, SMFs are necessary because of the modal dispersion in MMFs. Here, we present a method capable of interfacing an MMF with an SMF using a re-programmable multi-plane light conversion scheme (MPLC). We demonstrate that only three phase modulations are necessary to achieve MMF-SMF coupling efficiencies from 30% to 70%, i.e., an insertion loss from 5 dB to 1.5 dB, for MMFs with core diameters up to 200 μm. We show how the obtained coupling efficiency can be recovered if the output field of the MMF changes entirely, e.g., through strong deformation of the fiber, by simple monitoring of the field. Furthermore, we test the influence of the resolution of both essential devices (field reconstruction and MPLC) on coupling efficiencies. We find that commercially available devices with increased speed and efficiency, such as wavefront sensors and deformable mirrors, are sufficient for establishing an MMF-SMF interface that auto-corrects any decoupling in the kilohertz regime.

Photonic Angular Superresolution Using Twisted N00N States

The increased phase sensitivity of N00N states has been used in many experiments, often involving photon paths or polarization. Here we experimentally combine the phase sensitivity of N00N states with the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons up to 100  ℏ, to resolve rotations of a light field around its optical axis. The results show that both a higher photon number and larger OAM increase the resolution and achievable sensitivity. The presented method opens a viable path to unconditional angular supersensitivity and accessible generation of N00N states between any transverse light fields.

Superresolution Linear Optical Imaging in the Far Field

The resolution of optical imaging devices is ultimately limited by the diffraction of light. To circumvent this limit, modern superresolution microscopy techniques employ active interaction with the object by exploiting its optical nonlinearities, nonclassical properties of the illumination beam, or near field probing. Thus, they are not applicable whenever such interaction is not possible, for example, in astronomy or noninvasive biological imaging. Far field, linear optical superresolution techniques based on passive analysis of light coming from the object would cover these gaps. In this Letter, we present the first proof-of-principle demonstration of such a technique for 2D imaging. It works by accessing information about spatial correlations of the image optical field and, hence, about the object itself via measuring projections onto Hermite-Gaussian transverse spatial modes. With a basis of 21 spatial modes in both transverse dimensions, we perform two-dimensional imaging with twofold resolution enhancement beyond the diffraction limit.

High-Dimensional Two-Photon Interference Effects in Spatial Modes

Two-photon interference is a fundamental quantum optics effect with numerous applications in quantum information science. Here, we study two-photon interference in multiple transverse-spatial modes along a single beam-path. Besides implementing the analog of the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference using a two-dimensional spatial-mode splitter, we extend the scheme to observe coalescence and anticoalescence in different three- and four-dimensional spatial-mode multiports. The operation within spatial modes, along a single beam path, lifts the requirement for interferometric stability and opens up new pathways of implementing linear optical networks for complex quantum information tasks.

Radial Structure of OAM-Carrying Fundamental X-Waves

We investigate the spectral degree of freedom of OAM-carrying localized waves and its influence on their transverse intensity distribution. In particular, we focus our attention on exponentially decaying spectra, which are very tightly connected to fundamental X-waves; we then show how it is possible to structure their transverse intensity distribution, thus creating a radial structure similar to that of Bessel beams.

Topological charge of asymmetric optical vortices

We obtain theoretical relationships to define topological charge (TC) of vortex laser beams devoid of radial symmetry, namely asymmetric Laguerre-Gaussian (LG), asymmetric Bessel-Gaussian (BG), and asymmetric Kummer beams, as well as Hermite-Gaussian (HG) vortex beams. Although they are obtained as superposition of respective conventional LG, BG, and HG beams, these beams have the same TC equal to that of a single mode, n. At the same time, the normalized orbital angular momentum (OAM) that the beams carry is different, differently responding to the variation of the beam's asymmetry degree. However, whatever the asymmetry degree, TC of the beams remains unchanged and equals n. Although separate HG beam does not have OAM and TC, superposition of only two HG modes with adjacent numbers (n, n + 1) and a π/2-phase shift produces a modal beam whose TC is -(2n + 1). Theoretical findings are validated via numerical simulation.