Q-plates micro-arrays for parallel processing of the photon orbital angular momentum

Charles Loussert (1) , Kateryna Kushnir (1) , Etienne Brasselet (1)

1 LOMA - Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d'Aquitaine

We report on the realization of electrically tunable micro-arrays of space-variant optically anisotropic optical vortex generators. Each individual light orbital angular momentum processor consists of a microscopic self-engineered nematic liquid crystal q-plate made of a nonsingular topological defect spontaneously formed under electric field. Both structural and optical characterizations of the obtained spin-orbit optical interface are analyzed. An analytical model is derived and results of simulations are compared with experimental data. The application potential in terms of parallel processing of the optical orbital angular momentum is quantitatively discussed.

Domaines: Optique [physics.optics]

Charles Loussert, Kateryna Kushnir, Etienne Brasselet. Q-plates micro-arrays for parallel processing of the photon orbital angular momentum. Applied Physics Letters, 2014, 105 (12), pp.121108 (1-4). ⟨10.1063/1.4895706⟩. ⟨hal-01068128⟩