Generation of Off-Axis Diffraction Orders at the Quantization of Shifted Vortex Lens Phase

Abstract

Multiplexing a signal using the largest number of freedom degrees is an important task in the field of optical information transmission. Variations in the beams amplitude-phase structure can provide a wide range of possibilities for encoding and multiplexing optical signals and do not require complex optical systems or expensive devices. The paper analyzes the results of focusing laser radiation using phase vortex shifted lens quantized at a given level. It is shown that a shifted quantized lens makes it possible to obtain a variable number of local intensity maxima out of the optical axis. The use of a shifted quantized vortex lens made it possible to register a useful signal and detect both individual vortex beams and their superpositions out of the optical axis. We can also note that studies of the quantization parameter influence on the propagation of beam intensity have shown the possibility of eliminating fixed diffraction orders. Individual quantization levels produce diffraction orders that account for equal shares of energy (weights), and are thus candidates for more complex detection tasks that also include weight recognition.