Characterizing Vortex Beams from a Spatial Light Modulator with Collinear Phase-shifting Holography

Authors

Jasmine M. Andersen, University of Denver
Samuel N. Alperin, University of Denver
Andrew A. Voitiv, University of Denver
William G. Holtzmann, University of Denver
Juliet T. Gopinath, University of Colorado, Boulder
Mark Siemens, University of Denver - AdvisorFollow

Publication Date

1-10-2019

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

College of Natual Science and Mathematics, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Keywords

Collinear, Phase-shifting, Holography, Orbital angular momentum, Spatial light modulator

Abstract

We demonstrate collinear phase-shifting holography for measuring complex optical modes of twisted light beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) generated by passing a laser through a spatial light modulator (SLM). This technique measures the mode along the direction of propagation from the SLM and requires no additional optics, so it can be used to aid alignment of the SLM, to efficiently check for the effects of beam wander, and to fully characterize generated beams before use in other experiments. Optimized error analysis and careful SLM alignment allow us to generate and measure OAM with purity as high as 99.9%.

Publication Statement

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Recommended Citation

Andersen, J. M., Alperin, S. N., Voitiv, A. A., Holtzmann, W. G., Gopinath, J. T., & Siemens, M. E. (2019). Characterizing vortex beams from a spatial light modulator with collinear phase-shifting holography. Applied Optics (2004), 58(2), 404-409. DOI: 10.1364/ao.58.000404.