Tunable vortex lasers triggered by dynamic metasurfaces

Recent developments of advanced lasers with transverse modes, such as carrying orbital angular momenta (OAM), hold great promises in super-resolution, optical trapping/micro-manipulation, as well as high-capacity communications. However, the state-of-the-art vortex lasers (also known as OAM lasers) are mostly constructed by using bulky optics within an extracavity framework, and thereby lack compactness, adaptiveness, as well as power efficiency.

In this Villum Experiment project, I seek to answer the following question: Can we realize high-purity vortex lasers capable of directly emitting tunable OAM beams?

This project aims to demonstrate a scalable technology platform for developing reconfigurable vortex lasers by integrating dynamic metasurface within an intracavity framework. The key impact of this research will be to provide a stepping-stone towards versatile adaptive lasers with cost-effective and compactness, which will contribute to next-generation intelligent opto-electric systems and networks.