Measuring topological charge using Stokes parameters

Benjamin Perez-Garcia; Dorilian Lopez-Mago; Adad Yepiz Escalante; Raul I. Hernandez-Aranda; Julio C. Gutiérrez-Vega

doi:10.1117/12.2024735

28 September 2013 Measuring topological charge using Stokes parameters

Benjamin Perez-Garcia, Dorilian Lopez-Mago, Adad Yepiz Escalante, Raul I. Hernandez-Aranda, Julio C. Gutiérrez-Vega

Proceedings Volume 8843, Laser Beam Shaping XIV; 884303 (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2024735
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2013, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

An alternative method to experimentally measure the topological charge of a vortex beam is presented. The method is based on the number of polarization singularities arising in the superposition of two off-axis Laguerre-Gauss beams having orthogonal polarizations. The experimental setup consists of a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer which provides control over the polarization structure by allowing us to introduce lateral displace ments as well as relative phase variations between the two arms of the interferometer. A comparison between theoretical and experimental results is done with very good agreement. This method offers an alternative for measuring orbital angular momentum content in a beam without the need of interfering with a reference plane wave. The dynamics of polarization singularities are also studied experimentally.

Citation Download Citation

Benjamin Perez-Garcia, Dorilian Lopez-Mago, Adad Yepiz Escalante, Raul I. Hernandez-Aranda, and Julio C. Gutiérrez-Vega "Measuring topological charge using Stokes parameters", Proc. SPIE 8843, Laser Beam Shaping XIV, 884303 (28 September 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2024735

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