Tailoring Spatial Modes Produced by Stimulated Parametric Downconversion

Abstract: We theoretically study and experimentally demonstrate controlled generation of spatial modes of light via stimulated parametric downconversion (StimPDC) by transferring the spatial structure of a pump beam to the stimulated idler beam. We show how the beam characteristics of the stimulated beam depends on both the pump and seed beam's characteristics, enabling experimental control over size and propagation behavior. We also show how to control and improve the fidelity of different spatial modes, and demonstrate that the angular basis ensures uniform fidelity across modes generated with StimPDC.