Aberration-induced vortex splitting in amplified orbital angular momentum beams

Here we report the generation and power amplification of higher-order (l = 2) orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams using a compact end-pumped Nd:YAG Master-OscillatorPower-Amplifier (MOPA) design. We analysed the thermally-induced wavefront aberrations of the Nd:YAG crystal using a Shack-Hartmann sensor as well as modal decomposition of the field and show that the natural astigmatism in such systems results in the splitting of vortex phase singularities. Finally, we show how this can be ameliorated in the far field through engineering of the Gouy phase, realising an amplified vortex purity of 94% while achieving an amplification enhancement of up to 1200%. Our comprehensive theoretical and experimental investigation will be of value to communities pursuing high-power applications of structured light, from communications to materials processing.