High-order orbital angular momentum mode conversion based on a chiral long period fiber grating inscribed in a ring core fiber

A chiral long period fiber grating (CLPFG) was designed according to the phase-matching condition and conservation law of angular momentum, and was inscribed in a ring core fiber (RCF). This CLPFG was used to directly excite the +/- 2nd- and +/- 3rd-order orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes. The coupling efficiency of the OAM mode is up to 98.7% and the insertion loss is within 0.5 dB. The uniformity of the annular mode intensity distribution, polarization characteristics, and the mode purity of coupled OAMmodes were investigated in detail. Results show that the coupled high-order OAM modes possess a relative uniform annular intensity distribution, its mode purity is up to 93.2%, and the helical phase modulation is independent on the polarization state of incident light. These results indicate that the RCF-based CLPFG is an ideal OAM mode converter for future high-capacity optical fiber communication systems. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group.