Unveiling square and triangular optical lattices : a comparative study

Abstract

We study square and triangular optical lattice formation using a diffraction technique with light-possessing orbital angular momentum (OAM). We demonstrate that it is possible to use Fraunhofer diffraction of light by a square aperture to unveil OAM about two times bigger than would be possible with a triangular aperture. We notice that the pattern remains truncated until a topological charge (TC) equal to 20 with good precision. Even though a square pattern cannot be used to determine the TC sign, it is possible to measure high order of the modulus and sign of the TC up to 20, combining patterns of the triangular and square apertures.