Implementation of a spatial light modulator for intracavity beam shaping

Burger, Liesl; Litvin, Igor A.; Ngcobo, Sandile; Forbes, Andrew

doi:10.1088/2040-8978/17/1/015604

Cited by 31 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…But the feedback loop and wavefront sensing made the solution impractical for most applications. A major advance was the demonstration of conventional SLMs inside a laser cavity . Using a commercial SLM device, it was shown that the SLM could form the back reflector of a laser cavity, acting as a rewritable “holographic mirror.” Since the SLM requires only a new image to implement a new phase, the laser could output any structured light pattern without any changes to the cavity geometric and without any realignment of optical elements.…”

Section: Structured Light Lasersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structured Light from Lasers

Forbes

2019

Laser & Photonics Reviews

232

126

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Structured light is derived from the ability to tailor light, usually referring to the spatial control of its amplitude, phase, and polarization. Although a venerable topic that dates back to the very first laser designs, structuring light at the source has seen an explosion in activity over the past decade, fuelled by a modern toolkit that exploits the versatility of diffractive structures, liquid crystals, metasurfaces/metamaterials, and exotic laser geometries, as well as a myriad of applications that range from imaging, microscopy, and laser material processing to optical communication. Here, the recent progress in creating and controlling structured light is reviewed, with particular emphasis on structuring light at the source: structured light lasers. The various design approaches, including pump shaping, cavity geometries, and the use of custom intracavity optical elements, implemented in a variety of lasers from microchip solutions to high‐power fibers are covered in a tutorial style. The history and latest developments in the field are reviewed, elucidating the various structured light patterns that have been created from lasers, including orbital angular momentum and vector states of light. Finally, the present challenges and limitations are highlighted, along with comments on likely future trends.

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Section: Structured Light Lasersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structured Light from Lasers

Forbes

2019

Laser & Photonics Reviews

232

126

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“…One recent advance that eliminates the need for custom designed and fabricated optics is the so-called digital laser [45,46]. A typical configuration is shown in figure 6, comprising a Nd:YAG gain medium in a Fabry-Perot resonator.…”

Section: Oam Mode Generation (A) Scalar Modesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling light’s helicity at the source: orbital angular momentum states from lasers

Forbes¹

2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Optical modes that carry orbital angular momentum (OAM) are routinely produced external to the laser cavity and have found a variety of applications, thus increasing the demand for integrated solutions for their production. Yet such modes are notoriously difficult to produce from lasers due to the strict symmetry requirements for their creation, together with the need to break the degeneracy in helicity. Here, we review the progress made since 1992 in producing such twisted light modes directly at the source, from gas to solid-state lasers, bulk to integrated on-chip solutions, through to generic devices for on-demand OAM in both scalar and vector forms.This article is part of the themed issue 'Optical orbital angular momentum'.

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“…Non-homogeneous intensities are all the more critical in experiments involving non-linear light-matter interactions. For such systems exhibiting optical non-linearities (like two-photon absorption [8]), saturated optical responses (lasers [17], light-sentitive membrane channels [18]) or optical processes sensitive to temperature (photo-polymerization [19]), speckled patterns generated by regular CGH with phase-only modulation are thus detrimental and may result in experimental artifacts. Moreover, in applications using linear photo-excitation processes, the speckle pattern may also be problematic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vortex-free phase profiles for uniform patterning with computer-generated holography

Guillon¹,

Forget²,

Foust³

et al. 2017

Opt. Express

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Computer-generated holography enables efficient light pattern generation through phase-only wavefront modulation. While perfect patterning usually requires control over both phase and amplitude, iterative Fourier transform algorithms (IFTA) can achieve phase-only approximations which maximize light efficiency at the cost of uniformity. The phase being unconstrained in the output plane, it can vary abruptly in some regions leading to destructive interferences. Among such structures phase vortices are the most common. Here we demonstrate theoretically, numerically and experimentally, a novel approach for eliminating phase vortices by spatially filtering the phase input to the IFTA, combining it with phase-based complex amplitude control at the spatial light modulator (SLM) plane to generate smooth shapes. The experimental implementation is achieved performing complex amplitude modulation with a phase-only SLM. This proposed experimental scheme offers a continuous and centered field of excitation. Lastly, we characterize achievable trade-offs between pattern uniformity, diffraction efficiency, and axial confinement.

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Implementation of a spatial light modulator for intracavity beam shaping

Cited by 31 publications

References 23 publications

Structured Light from Lasers

Structured Light from Lasers

Controlling light’s helicity at the source: orbital angular momentum states from lasers

Vortex-free phase profiles for uniform patterning with computer-generated holography

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