Generation of optical vortex lattices by in-line phase modulation with partially coherent light

Of late, generation of different kinds of optical vortex lattices has been gaining much attention due to various applications. Several methods have been reported for the generation of optical vortex lattices using a coherent light source involving interferometric, diffractive, and pinhole phase plate methods. Owing to cost effectiveness and ease in optical implementation, these days use of incoherent or partially coherent light beams is becoming popular. In this study, we demonstrate generation of different kinds of optical vortex lattices through in-line modulation of phase distributions employing the phase concatenation approach and a light-emitting diode as a light source. It is a non-interferometric and flexible technique for the selection of the parameters that characterize the optical vortices and their arrays. The proposed method allows generation of an array of optical vortices of different topological charges with zero and non-zero radial indices having different symmetries.& COPY;2023 Optica Publishing Group

Automated summary

Lately, the generation of various optical vortex lattices has become a topic of interest due to its wide-ranging applications. Different methods have been used, including interferometric, diffractive, and pinhole phase plate methods, with the use of coherent light sources. However, the use of incoherent or partially coherent light beams is gaining popularity due to cost effectiveness and ease of implementation. In this study, the researchers demonstrate the generation of optical vortex lattices using a phase concatenation approach and a light-emitting diode as the light source, providing a non-interferometric and flexible technique for selecting the parameters of the optical vortices and their arrays.