Measuring the orbital angular momentum of a single photon

J. Leach, M.J. Padgett, S.M. Barnett, S. Franke-Arnold, J. Courtial

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

660 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We propose an interferometric method for measuring the orbital angular momentum of single photons. We demonstrate its viability by sorting four different orbital angular momentum states, and are thus able to encode two bits of information on a single photon. This new approach has implications for entanglement experiments, quantum cryptography and high density information transfer.
LanguageEnglish
Pages257901-1
Number of pages257900
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume88
Issue number25
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jun 2002

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angular momentum
information transfer
quantum cryptography
orbitals
photons
classifying
viability

Keywords

  • photons
  • orbital angular momentum
  • entanglement
  • quantum cryptography
  • high density information transfer
  • photonics
  • optics

Cite this

Leach, J., Padgett, M. J., Barnett, S. M., Franke-Arnold, S., & Courtial, J. (2002). Measuring the orbital angular momentum of a single photon. Physical Review Letters, 88(25), 257901-1. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.257901
Leach, J. ; Padgett, M.J. ; Barnett, S.M. ; Franke-Arnold, S. ; Courtial, J. / Measuring the orbital angular momentum of a single photon. In: Physical Review Letters. 2002 ; Vol. 88, No. 25. pp. 257901-1.
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Leach, J, Padgett, MJ, Barnett, SM, Franke-Arnold, S & Courtial, J 2002, 'Measuring the orbital angular momentum of a single photon' Physical Review Letters, vol. 88, no. 25, pp. 257901-1. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.257901

Measuring the orbital angular momentum of a single photon. / Leach, J.; Padgett, M.J.; Barnett, S.M.; Franke-Arnold, S.; Courtial, J.

In: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 88, No. 25, 24.06.2002, p. 257901-1.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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Leach J, Padgett MJ, Barnett SM, Franke-Arnold S, Courtial J. Measuring the orbital angular momentum of a single photon. Physical Review Letters. 2002 Jun 24;88(25):257901-1. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.257901

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