title: Fast electrical switching of orbital angular momentum modes using ultra-compact integrated vortex emitters.
abstract: The ability to rapidly switch between orbital angular momentum modes of light has important implications for future classical and quantum systems. In general, orbital angular momentum beams are generated using free-space bulk optical components where the fastest reconfiguration of such systems is around a millisecond using spatial light modulators. In this work, an extremely compact optical vortex emitter is demonstrated with the ability to actively tune between different orbital angular momentum modes. The emitter is tuned using a single electrically contacted thermo-optical control, maintaining device simplicity and micron scale footprint. On-off keying and orbital angular momentum mode switching are achieved at rates of 10 μs and 20 μs respectively.
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute of Photonics, University of Strathclyde, Wolfson Centre, 106 Rottenrow East, Glasgow G4 0NW, UK [2] School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Rankine Building, Oakfield Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LT, UK.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Strain
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yatsen University, Guangzhou 510275, China [2] Centre for Quantum Photonics, H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UB, UK.
authors.forename: Xinlun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Centre for Quantum Photonics, H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UB, UK.
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yatsen University, Guangzhou 510275, China [2] Photonics Research Group, Merchant Venturers School of Engineering, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, UK.
authors.forename: Jiangbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Photonics Research Group, Merchant Venturers School of Engineering, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, UK.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Photonics Research Group, Merchant Venturers School of Engineering, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, UK.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lopez-Garcia
authors.affiliation: Centre for Quantum Photonics, H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UB, UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: Centre for Quantum Photonics, H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UB, UK.
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Rankine Building, Oakfield Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LT, UK.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sorel
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies and School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yatsen University, Guangzhou 510275, China [2] Photonics Research Group, Merchant Venturers School of Engineering, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UB, UK.
authors.forename: Siyuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu