Ways to achieve efficient non-local vortex beam generation

Abstract

Based on the insights into the phenomenon of bound states in the continuum, a novel approach utilizing the momentum-space polarization morphologies of periodic structures to generate vortex beams (VBs) has been proposed. Such periodic structures modulate beams in a nonlocal way and require no precise alignment. However, the efficiency of such an approach has not been analyzed in detail, and the efficiency in previous realizations is far from optimized. Here, we analyze the factors affecting the efficiency of nonlocal VB generation. We show that the maximal efficiency cannot exceed 25% if the periodic structure carries only singlet resonances. To go beyond this limit, we propose two approaches to improve efficiency. We theoretically analyze the mechanisms and verify the approaches by full-wave simulations. Both of the approaches serve to improve the generation efficiency by several folds.