We prepare heralded single photons in a non-separable superposition of polarization and spatial modes using an in-beam polarization interferometer enabled by a spatial light modulator. We diagnose the quantum state using two techniques: quantum state tomography and imaging polarimetry. The results are in very good agreement with the expectations.
Non-separable superpositions of polarization and spatial mode of a single photon produce a state that has a polarization that depends on the transverse position, and contains all states of polarization represented on the Poincaré sphere. We have done measurements of the space-dependent state of polarization of single photons prepared in distinct 2×2 (qubit-qubit) and 2×3 (qubit-qutrit) non-separable superpositions of Laguerre-Gauss spatial and polarization states. Detection was done by polarimetry of the light projected at distinct locations in the transverse plane. The polarization patterns had a C-point polarization singularity (lemon, star or monstar) at the center of the transverse wavefunction.
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