An optical vortex (OV) with an isolated field singularity has been extensively studied in a variety of fields. An OV lattice with a network of optical vortices may find more advanced applications in widespread areas such as optical metrology, optical manipulation, and quantum processing. An OV lattice generated by traditional approaches relies on a number of bulky diffractive optical elements with large volumes and long working distances. Here we present a simple and compact on-chip OV lattice emitter on silicon photonics platforms. The principle relies on three-plane-wave interference. We design, fabricate, and demonstrate an on-chip OV lattice emitter consisting of three parallel waveguides with etched tilt gratings. The tilt gratings facilitate flexible light emission in a wide range of directions, enabling the generation of an OV lattice above the silicon chip. The demonstrated on-chip OV lattice emitter may open a door to generate, manipulate, and detect an OV lattice using photonic integrated circuits. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America
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