Arbitrary optical wave evolution with Fourier transforms and phase masks

Pastor VL, Lundeen J, Marquardt F (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Optics Express Optical Society of America

Book Volume: 29

Pages Range: 38441-38450

Journal Issue: 23

DOI: 10.1364/OE.432787

Abstract

A large number of applications in classical and quantum photonics require the capability of implementing arbitrary linear unitary transformations on a set of optical modes. In a seminal work by Reck et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 58 (1994)], it was shown how to build such multiport universal interferometers with a mesh of beam splitters and phase shifters, and this design became the basis for most experimental implementations in the last decades. However, the design of Reck et al. is difficult to scale up to a large number of modes, which would be required for many applications. Here we present a deterministic algorithm that can find an exact and efficient implementation of any unitary transformation, using only Fourier transforms and phase masks. Since Fourier transforms and phase masks are routinely implemented in several optical setups and they do not suffer from some of the scalability issues associated with building extensive meshes of beam splitters, we believe that our design can be useful for many applications in photonics.

Authors with CRIS profile

Florian Marquardt

Involved external institutions

Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts (MPL) / Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light DE Germany (DE) University of Ottawa CA Canada (CA)

How to cite

APA:

Pastor, V.L., Lundeen, J., & Marquardt, F. (2021). Arbitrary optical wave evolution with Fourier transforms and phase masks. Optics Express, 29(23), 38441-38450. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.432787

MLA:

Pastor, Victor Lopez, Jeff Lundeen, and Florian Marquardt. "Arbitrary optical wave evolution with Fourier transforms and phase masks." Optics Express 29.23 (2021): 38441-38450.

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