Abstract: The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons provide another parameter dimension of light that can be used for applications such as classical communications, quantum information, and particle trapping and manipulation. Conventional methods of generating and detecting OAM states use bulk optics, which is impractical for many applications that require large number of robust, small-sized and fast tunable OAM emitters / detectors.
We have initiated an approach based on extracting light confined in waveguide whispering gallery mode resonators. We use integrated azimuthal grating to scatter photons into OAM beams, precisely controlling the OAM value in the emitted beam. Extensive characterisation of microscopic silicon waveguide devices confirms that precisely predictable and tunable OAM photons can be generated from these devices. This work has been a collaborative research involving Fudan University and has been accepted by Science.
In this talk I will report the progress so far and speculate on the future development of this technology and how it could lead to integrated OAM systems for above mentioned applications areas.
