From q-plates to the photonic gear: tailoring the rotational properties of light

Lorenzo Marrucci; Fabio Sciarrino

doi:10.1117/12.2036723

25 February 2014 From q-plates to the photonic gear: tailoring the rotational properties of light

Lorenzo Marrucci, Fabio Sciarrino

Proceedings Volume 8999, Complex Light and Optical Forces VIII; 89990H (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2036723
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2014, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The rotational properties of a light beam are controlled by its spin and orbital angular momentum (SAM and OAM). The q-plate, a liquid crystal device that can give rise to a coupling of these two quantities, was introduced a few years ago, leading to several applications in classical and quantum photonics. Very recently, in particular, a specific kind of q-plate was used to generate rotational-invariant states of single photons, which were then employed for performing a demonstration of quantum key distribution without the need for establishing a common reference frame between the transmitting and the receiving units. This result may find applications in future satellite-based quantum communication. By a similar approach, photonic states having a strongly enhanced rotational sensitivity, as opposed to rotational invariance, can be generated by using q-plates with very high topological charge. Photons in these states can be obtained starting from light having a uniform linear polarization and, after a physical rotation, can be converted back into light having uniformly linear polarization. As a result, one obtains linearly polarized light whose polarization plane rotates by an angle that is proportional to the angle of physical rotation between the generation and detection stages, with a very large proportionality constant. This effect of rotational amplification, which we named “photonic gear”, leads to a sort of “super-resolved Malus’ law”, potentially useful for measuring mechanical angles with very high precision.

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Lorenzo Marrucci and Fabio Sciarrino "From q-plates to the photonic gear: tailoring the rotational properties of light", Proc. SPIE 8999, Complex Light and Optical Forces VIII, 89990H (25 February 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2036723

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KEYWORDS

Polarization

Quantum communications

Photon polarization

Photons

Computer programming

Single photon

Near field optics

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