The behavior of the optical vortices with fractional topological charges in the far-field is assessed through numerical modeling and confirmed by experimental results. The generation of fractional topological charge variations of the phase within a Gaussian beam was achieved by using a liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LCoS SLM). It is shown that a laser beam carrying an optical vortex with a fractional topological charge evolves into a beam with a topological charge of integer value, specifically an integer value closer to the fractional number in the far field. A potential application of this work is for data transmission within optical telecommunication systems.
We demonstrated that optical vortices can be created by means of interference of three waves from a common laser
source. Different intensity patterns can be generated starting from common two wave interference fringes up to regular
hexagonal structures. The created vortices exist throughout the transition from two wave to complete three wave
interference and have been shown to move along predictable lines in space under perturbations of contrast of waves. The
law of conservation of topological charge was fulfilled for the interference of three waves.
Laser beam shaping is an active discipline in optics owing to its importance to both illumination and detection processes. The formation of single or multiples optical vortices in a laser beam has taken on recent interest in areas ranging from electron and atom optics to astronomy. An optical vortex is characterized as a point node of destructive interference around which the phase varies by an integer multiple of 2 times π. Here we describe our efforts to create localized vortex cores using only the interference of several Gaussian profile laser beams, a method that may be particularly suited to the application of vortex modes to intense femtosecond laser pulses.
We describe the application of smectic A (SmA) liquid crystals for beam deflection. SmA materials can be used in digital beam deflectors (DBDs) as fillers for passive birefringent prisms. SmA prisms have high birefringence and can be constructed in a variety of shapes, including single prisms and prismatic blazed gratings of different angles and profiles. We address the challenges of uniform alignment of SmA, such as elimination of focal conic domains. Fast rotation of the incident light polarization in DBDs is achieved by an electrically switched 90-deg twisted nematic (TN) cell.
We have shown the vortex structure of the dislocation appearing in a laser beam passing through a Gaussian lens induced in a cubical, non-linear media during self-action. We make such studies using focusing and defocusing Gaussian lenses both theoretically and experimentally.
The geometrical optics method permits to make preliminary conclusions about optical singularities formation and their location after specific phase object: the necessary and sufficient conditions of optical singularities existence are worked out. It was shown that the locus of optical singularities after thin Kerr-like medium shaped enclosed curves. The result agree with experiment and numerical modeling of wave equation.
We show directly that a light beam carrying optical vortex rotates in space around the axis of propagation. The spatial rotation and related angular momentum result from the helical wavefront with axial phase singularity. Using Gaussian envelope of a 'singular' beam, we calculate the angular velocity of rotation. Experimental observation of light beam rotation is performed at the first time to our knowledge and confirms the theoretical predictions.
We report experimental and numerical investigation of optical vortices nucleation in a wavefront of a laser beam passed through LiNbO3 crystal with light-induced self- defocusing nonlinear lens and through SBN crystal with self-focusing nonlinear lens.
We report experimental and numerical investigation of optical vortices nucleation in a wavefront of a laser beam passed through LiNbO3 crystal with light-induced self- defocusing nonlinear lens and through SBN crystal with self-focusing nonlinear lens.
We report experimental and numerical investigation of a process of ingenious optical vortices nucleation in a wavefront of a laser beam passing through photorefractive LiNbO3 crystal with self-induced nonlinear lens.
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