Time-division multiplexing of the orbital angular momentum of light

Opt Lett. 2012 Jan 15;37(2):127-9. doi: 10.1364/OL.37.000127.

Abstract

We present an optical setup for generating a sequence of light pulses in which the orbital angular momentum (OAM) degree of freedom is correlated with the temporal one. The setup is based on a single q plate within a ring optical resonator. By this approach, we demonstrate the generation of a train of pulses carrying increasing values of OAM, or, alternatively, of a controlled temporal sequence of pulses having prescribed OAM superposition states. Finally, we exhibit an "OAM-to-time conversion" apparatus that divides different input OAM states into different time bins. The latter application provides a simple approach to digital spiral spectroscopy of pulsed light.