Abstract
© 2020 OSA - The Optical Society. All rights reserved.An accurate readout of low-power optical higher-order spatial modes is of increasing importance to the precision metrology community. Mode sensors are used to prevent mode mismatches from degrading quantum and thermal noise mitigation strategies. Direct mode analysis sensors (MODAN) are a promising technology for real-time monitoring of arbitrary higher-order modes. We demonstrate MODAN with photo-diode readout to mitigate the typically low dynamic range of CCDs. We look for asymmetries in the response of our sensor to break degeneracies in the relative alignment of the MODAN and photo-diode and consequently improve the dynamic range of the mode sensor. We provide a tolerance analysis and show methodology that can be applied for sensors beyond first order spatial modes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 10253-10269 |
| Journal | Optics Express |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 30 Mar 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
A. W. Jones thanks the Royal Astronomical Society and Institute of Physics for financial support. A. Freise has been supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and by a Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship which is jointly funded by the Royal Society and the Wolfson Foundation. The authors jointly thank Maud Slangen for proofreading.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council | EP/M013294/1, EP/T001046/1 |
| Science and Technology Facilities Council | |
| Royal Society | |
| Institute of Physics | |
| Royal Astronomical Society | |
| Wolfson Foundation |