Talbot effect of orbital angular momentum lattices with single photons
Sacha Schwarz, Connor Kapahi, Ronghui Xu, Andrew Cameron, Dusan Sarenac, J. P. W. MacLean, Katanya B. Kuntz, David G. Cory, Thomas Jennewein, K. J. Resch, D. A. Pushin
Abstract
The self-imaging, or Talbot effect, that occurs with the propagation of periodically structured waves has enabled several unique applications in optical metrology, image processing, data transmission, and matter-wave interferometry. In this paper, we report on a demonstration of a Talbot effect with single photons prepared in a lattice of orbital angular momentum (OAM) states. We observe that upon propagation the wavefronts of the single photons manifest self-imaging whereby the OAM lattice intensity profile is recovered. Furthermore, we show that the intensity at fractional Talbot distances is indicative of a periodic helical phase structure corresponding to a lattice of OAM states. This phenomenon is a powerful addition to the toolbox of orbital angular momentum and spin-orbit techniques that have already enabled many recent developments in quantum optics.