Generating controllable Laguerre-Gaussian laser modes through intracavity spin-orbital angular momentum conversion of light (1807.09963v1)

Abstract: The rapid developments in orbital-angular-momentum-carrying Laguerre-Gaussian (LG0 l) modes in recent years have facilitated progresses in optical communication, micromanipulation and quantum information. However, it is still challenging to efficiently generate bright, pure and selectable LG0 l laser modes in compact devices. Here, we demonstrate a low-threshold solid-state laser that can directly output selected high-purity LG0 l modes with high efficiency and controllability. Spin-orbital angular momentum conversion of light is used to reversibly convert the transverse modes inside cavity and determine the output mode index. The generated LG0 1 and LG0 2 laser modes have purities of ~97% and ~93% and slope efficiencies of ~11% and ~5.1%, respectively. Moreover, our cavity design can be easily extended to produce higher-order Laguerre-Gaussian modes and cylindrical vector beams. Such compact laser configuration features flexible control, low threshold, and robustness, making it a practical tool for applications in super-resolution imaging, high-precision interferometer and quantum correlations.