| Quantum information science promises dramatic progress in a variety of fields such as cryptography, computation, and metrology. Although the proof-of-principle attempts for implementing quantum protocols have often relied on only a few qubits, the utilization of more sophisticated quantum systems is required for practical applications. In this thesis, we investigate the emerging role of high-dimensional optical states as a resource for encoding quantum information.;We begin the first chapter with a review of orbital angular momentum (OAM) as a prime candidate for realizing multilevel quantum states and follow with a brief introduction to the quantum measurement theory. The second and the third chapters are dedicated to the application of OAM modes in quantum cryptography. In the second chapter, we discuss the challenges of projective measurement of OAM at the single-photon level, a crucial task required for quantum information processing. We then present our development of an efficient and accurate mode-sorting device that is capable of projectively measuring the orbital angular momentum of single photons. In the third chapter, we discuss the role of OAM modes in increasing the information capacity of quantum cryptography. We start this chapter by establishing the merits of encoding information on the quantum index of OAM modes in a free-space link. We then generalizing the BB-84 QKD protocol to the Hilbert space spanned by a finite number of OAM modes and outline our experimental realization.;The last two chapters are dedicated to the tomography of structured light fields. We start the fourth chapter by applying the recently found method of direct measurement to the characterization of OAM superpositions. We find the quantum state in the Hilbert space spanned by 27 OAM modes by performing a weak measurement of orbital angular momentum (OAM) followed by a strong measurement of azimuthal angle. We then introduce the concept of compressive direct measurement (CDM). In this method, we combine the direct measurement with an efficient computational technique known as compressive sensing in determining the wave function of an a priori unknown state. Using this combination, we demonstrate a 300-fold speed up in the measurement of a 19200-dimensional state. We demonstrate a technique for full characterization of the orbital-angular-momentum content of a photon in the fifth chapter. We achieve this task by directly measuring the elements of the density matrix in the basis of azimuthal angle, and subsequently mapping the results to the conjugate basis of OAM via a linear transformation. We provide data for experimental characterization of pure OAM superpositions as well as mixed combinations of OAM modes using this technique. |
