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Helical Bragg gratings: experimental verification of light orbital angular momentum conversion

Structured light, in particular light possessing orbital angular momentum (OAM), has been actively studied in recent decades. Helical Bragg grating (HBG) is a reflecting optical element, which predicted to be able to convert the OAM of light in waveguides and fibers. However, the HBG has not been demonstrated experimentally yet. Here we report the first experimental manifestation of HBG created in the form of a waveguide with depressed-index cladding. Few-mode channel helical-depressed-cladding waveguides (HDCWs) have been written in a YAG crystal by a femtosecond laser beam. The HDCW pitches were comparable to near-IR wavelengths. The spectral and polarization characteristics of the transmitted and reflected light have been studied. It was shown that HDCWs behave like HBGs providing narrowband resonance coupling of the counter propagating modes, the OAM of the modes differing by the Bragg order or, what is the same, the topological charge of the helical cladding structure. Adjusting the HDCW parameters allows one to excite a reflected wave at the predetermined wavelength and with the predetermined OAM change with respect to the light coupled to the waveguide. Thus, for the first time, the HBGs suitable for the generation and filtration of the vortex light have been experimentally demonstrated. The experimental results obtained agree well with the coupled mode theory calculations.