OAM beams from incomplete computer generated holograms

Abstract

We show that optical beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) can be generated even with incomplete computer generated holograms (CGH). These holograms are made such that random portions of it do not contain any information. We observe that although the beams produced with these holograms are less intense, these beams maintain their shape and that their topological charges are not affected. Furthermore, we show that superposition of two or more beams can be created using separate incomplete CGHs interspersed together. Our result is significant especially since most method to generate beams with OAM for various applications rely on pixelated devices or optical elements with imperfections.