Carmelo Rosales-Guzmán

Optical communication beyond orbital angular momentum

Mode division multiplexing (MDM) is mooted as a technology to address future bandwidth issues, and has been successfully demonstrated in free space using spatial modes with orbital angular momentum (OAM). To further increase the data transmission rate, more degrees of freedom are required to form a densely packed mode space. Here we move beyond OAM and demonstrate multiplexing and demultiplexing using both the radial and azimuthal degrees of freedom. We achieve this with a holographic approach that allows over 100 modes to be encoded on a single hologram, across a wide wavelength range, in a wavelength independent manner. Our results offer a new tool that will prove useful in realizing higher bit rates for next generation optical networks.

Experimental detection of transverse particle movement with structured light

One procedure widely used to detect the velocity of a moving object is by using the Doppler effect. This is the perceived change in frequency of a wave caused by the relative motion between the emitter and the detector, or between the detector and a reflecting target. The relative movement, in turn, generates a time-varying phase which translates into the detected frequency shift. The classical longitudinal Doppler effect is sensitive only to the velocity of the target along the line-of-sight between the emitter and the detector (longitudinal velocity), since any transverse velocity generates no frequency shift. This makes the transverse velocity undetectable in the classical scheme. Although there exists a relativistic transverse Doppler effect, it gives values that are too small for the typical velocities involved in most laser remote sensing applications. Here we experimentally demonstrate a novel way to detect transverse velocities. The key concept is the use of structured light beams. These beams are unique in the sense that their phases can be engineered such that each point in its transverse plane has an associated phase value. When a particle moves across the beam, the reflected light will carry information about the particles movement through the variation of the phase of the light that reaches the detector, producing a frequency shift associated with the movement of the particle in the transverse plane.

Roadmap on structured light

Structured light refers to the generation and application of custom light fields. As the tools and technology to create and detect structured light have evolved, steadily the applications have begun to emerge. This roadmap touches on the key fields within structured light from the perspective of experts in those areas, providing insight into the current state and the challenges their respective fields face. Collectively the roadmap outlines the venerable nature of structured light research and the exciting prospects for the future that are yet to be realized.

Beam quality measure for vector beams

Vector beams have found a myriad of applications, from laser materials processing to microscopy, and are now easily produced in the laboratory. They are usually differentiated from scalar beams by qualitative measures, for example, visual inspection of beam profiles after a rotating polarizer. Here we introduce a quantitative beam quality measure for vector beams and demonstrate it on cylindrical vector vortex beams. We show how a single measure can be defined for the vector quality, from 0 (purely scalar) to 1 (purely vector). Our measure is derived from a quantum toolkit, which we show applies to classical vector beams.

On the resilience of scalar and vector vortex modes in turbulence

Free-space optical communication with spatial modes of light has become topical due to the possibility of dramatically increasing communication bandwidth via Mode Division Multiplexing (MDM). While both scalar and vector vortex modes have been used as transmission bases, it has been suggested that the latter is more robust in turbulence. Using orbital angular momentum as an example, we demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that the crosstalk due to turbulence is the same in the scalar and vector basis sets of such modes. This work brings new insights about the behaviour of vector and scalar modes in turbulence, but more importantly it demonstrates that when considering optimal modes for MDM, the choice should not necessarily be based on their vectorial nature.

Light with enhanced optical chirality.

Tang and Cohen [Phys. Rev. Lett.104, 163901 (2010)] recently demonstrated a scheme to enhance the chiral response of molecules, which relies on the use of circularly polarized light in a standing wave configuration. Here we show a new type of light that possesses orbital angular momentum and enhanced chiral response. In the locations where the beams show enhanced optical chirality, only the longitudinal components of the electric and magnetic fields survive, which has unexpectedly shown what we believe is a new way to yield an enhanced optical chiral response.

Creation and Detection of Vector Vortex Modes for Classical and Quantum Communication

Vector vortex beams are structured states of light that are nonseparable in their polarisation and spatial mode, they are eigenmodes of free-space and many fiber systems, and have the capacity to be used as information carriers for both classical and quantum communication. Here, we outline recent progress in our understanding of these modes, from their creation to their characterization and detection. We then use these tools to study their propagation behavior in free-space and optical fiber and show that modal cross-talk results in a decay of vector states into separable scalar modes, with a concomitant loss of information. We present a comparison between probabilistic and deterministic detection schemes showing that the former, while ubiquitous, negates the very benefit of increased dimensionality in quantum communication while reducing signal in classical communication links. This work provides a useful introduction to the field as well as presenting new findings and perspectives to advance it further.

Measurement of flow vorticity with helical beams of light

It is possible to devise an experiment in which the local vorticity of a flow can be estimated by probing the fluid with Laguerre–Gauss (LG) beams, i.e., optical beams that show an azimuthal phase variation that is the origin of its characteristic nonzero orbital angular momentum. The key point is to make use of the transversal Doppler effect of the returned signal that depends only on the azimuthal component of the flow velocity along the ring-shaped observation beam. We found from a detailed analysis of the experimental method that probing the fluid with LG beams is an effective and simple sensing technique that is able to produce accurate estimates of flow vorticity.

Measuring the translational and rotational velocities of particles in helical motion using structured light

We measure the rotational and translational velocity components of particles moving in helical motion under a Laguerre-Gaussian mode illumination. The moving particle reflects light that acquires an additional frequency shift proportional to the velocity of rotation in the transverse plane, on top of the usual frequency shift due to the longitudinal motion. We determined both the translational and rotational velocities of the particles by switching between two modes: by illuminating with a Gaussian beam, we can isolate the longitudinal frequency shift; and by using a Laguerre-Gaussian mode, the frequency shift due to the rotation can be determined. Our technique can be used to characterize the motility of microorganisms with a full three-dimensional movement.

Nanostep height measurement via spatial mode projection

We demonstrate an optical scheme for measuring the thickness of thin nanolayers with the use of light beams spatial modes. The novelty in our scheme is the projection of the beam reflected by the sample onto a properly tailored spatial mode. In the experiment described below, we are able to measure a step height smaller than 10 nm, i.e., one-eightieth (1/80) of the wavelength with a standard error in the picometer scale. Since our scheme enhances the signal-to-noise ratio, which effectively increases the sensitivity of detection, the extension of this technique to the detection of subnanometric layer thicknesses is feasible.