Chip-Scale Perfect Vortex Beam Arrays within a 100 × 100 μm ² Footprint for High-Capacity OAM Fiber Links

The ever-growing demand for data bandwidth is driving the exploration of new multiplexing dimensions in optical communications. Orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing is promising, but hindered by charge-dependent vortex-beam size and bulky external multiplexers. Here, we report a chip-scale solution that addresses both challenges. We monolithically integrate 3D-nanoprinted microphase plates onto vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays to realize ultracompact, addressable sources of perfect vortex beams (PVBs). Integrated phase plates combine spiral, axicon, and lens functions, directly generating PVBs with consistent ring diameter. We demonstrate scalable one- and two-dimensional arrays emitting distinct PVB channels, including an ultradense 100 × 100 μm 2 array with independently addressable four OAM states. The dense pitch enables multiple PVBs to couple directly into a standard multimode fiber with >50% efficiency per channel, without any external multiplexing optics. This integrated platform removes bulk components and simplifies OAM generation and combining, paving the way for practical, high-capacity, and miniaturized OAM-multiplexed transmitters.