Spatial light modulators (SLMs) are popular tools for generating structured light fields and have fostered numerous applications in optics and photonics. Here, we explore the limits of what fields these devices are capable of generating and detecting in the context of so-called vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM). Our main contributions are to quantify (theoretically and experimentally) how the pixelation of the SLM screen affects the quality of the generated vortex mode and to offer useful heuristics on how to optimise the performance of the displayed digital hologram. In so doing, we successfully generate and detect a very high order optical vortex mode with topological charge , the highest achieved to date using SLMs. Since the OAM degree of freedom is frequently touted as offering a potentially unbounded state space, we hope that this work will inspire researchers to make more use of higher-order vortex modes.

空间光调制器（SLM）是用于生成结构化光场的流行工具，并且在光学和光子学中得到了广泛的应用。在这里，我们探讨了在带有轨道角动量（OAM）的所谓涡流束的背景下这些设备能够产生和检测哪些场的限制。我们的主要贡献是（理论上和实验上）量化SLM屏幕的像素化如何影响所产生的涡旋模式的质量，并就如何优化所显示数字全息图的性能提供有用的启发。这样，我们成功地生成并检测了带有拓扑电荷的高阶光学涡旋模式，这是迄今为止使用SLM实现的最高水平。由于OAM的自由度经常被吹捧为提供潜在的无限状态空间，因此我们希望这项工作能激发研究人员更多地利用高阶涡旋模式。