Orbital angular momentum generation in two-mode fiber, based on the modal interference principle

Abstract

In this Letter, we demonstrate, to the best of our knowledge, a novel method to generate an orbital angular momentum (OAM) based on the principle of the modal interference in a two-mode fiber. At the interference dips, the left- or right-handed circular polarized HE₁₁ modes can be ideally converted into the ±1-order OAM beam. To verify this concept, we employed the femtosecond laser micro-processing technology to write micro-waveguides in the two-mode fiber and hence realized the in-line modal interferometer. To enhance the mode conversion efficiency at the dips, we optimized the waveguide parameters both theoretically and experimentally. The interference spectrum and spiral/fork patterns confirm the OAM beam generation with an efficiency as high as 99%.