Laguerre-Gauss beam generation in IR and UV by subwavelength surface-relief gratings

The angular momentum of light can be described by the states of spin angularmomentum, associated with polarization, and orbital angular momentum, relatedto the helical structure of the wave front. Laguerre-Gaussian beams carryorbital angular momentum and their generation can be done by using an opticaldevice known as q-plate.

However, due to the usage of liquid crystals, thesecomponents may be restricted to operate in specific wavelengths and low powersources. Here we present the fabrication and characterization of q-plates madewithout liquid crystals, using processes of e-beam lithography, atomic layerdepositions and dry etch techniques.

We exploit the phenomenon of formbirefringence to give rise to the spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion.We demonstrate that these plates can generate beams with high quality for theUV and IR range, allowing them to interact with high power laser sources orinside laser cavities.