In my second Optics Rotation project I would like to do the following things:

1.) Convert Hermite-Gaussian beams from a HeNe-Laser into Laguerre-Gaussian modes The way to do this is beautifully described on the page by Alex Ellis: Alex's Web Report Look at my first Laguerre-Gaussian beams 2.) Build an interferometer where the Laguerre-Gaussian beam interferes with a plane-wave reference beam The result should look like this picture taken by E. Galvez at Colgate University 3.) If there is still time I’d like to build an “Orbital Angular Momentum Sorter” like it has been recently introduced by J. Leach et al in Physical Review Letters (Phys. Rev. Let. 88, art. 257901, June 2002) By introducing two dove prisms at different orientations in different arms of an interferometer it is possible to build a “two channel interferometer” where there is only a signal in one of the two channels. In which one you can see the signal depends on the angular momentum of the initial beam Let’s see what I can manage to do!