Conventional optical components rely on gradual phase shifts accumulated during light propagation to shape light beams. New degrees of freedom are attained by introducing abrupt phase changes over the scale of the wavelength. A two-dimensional array of optical resonators with spatially varying phase response and subwavelength separation can imprint such phase discontinuities on propagating light as it traverses the interface between two media. Anomalous reflection and refraction phenomena are observed in this regime in optically thin arrays of metallic antennas on silicon with a linear phase variation along the interface, which are in excellent agreement with generalized laws derived from Fermat’s principle. Phase discontinuities provide great flexibility in the design of light beams, as illustrated by the generation of optical vortices through use of planar designer metallic interfaces.

http://www.zenogaburro.it/papers/LightPropagation.pdf

Light Propagation with Phase Discontinuities: Generalized Laws of Reflection and Refraction

Researchers demonstrate the ability to multiplex and transfer data between twisted beams of light with different amounts of orbital angular momentum — a development that provides new opportunities for increasing the data capacity of free-space optical communications links.

/pdf/terabit-free-space-data-transmission-employing-orbital-47zsgn5cdx.pdf

Terabit free-space data transmission employing orbital angular momentum multiplexing

As they travel through space, some light beams rotate. Such light beams have angular momentum. There are two particularly important ways in which a light beam can rotate: if every polarization vector rotates, the light has spin; if the phase structure rotates, the light has orbital angular momentum (OAM), which can be many times greater than the spin. Only in the past 20 years has it been realized that beams carrying OAM, which have an optical vortex along the axis, can be easily made in the laboratory. These light beams are able to spin microscopic objects, give rise to rotational frequency shifts, create new forms of imaging systems, and behave within nonlinear material to give new insights into quantum optics.

/pdf/orbital-angular-momentum-origins-behavior-and-applications-1sv8qfuhrs.pdf

Orbital angular momentum: origins, behavior and applications

We demonstrate experimentally an optical process in which the spin angular momentum carried by a circularly polarized light beam is converted into orbital angular momentum, leading to the generation of helical modes with a wave-front helicity controlled by the input polarization. This phenomenon requires the interaction of light with matter that is both optically inhomogeneous and anisotropic. The underlying physics is also associated with the so-called Pancharatnam-Berry geometrical phases involved in any inhomogeneous transformation of the optical polarization.

Optical spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion in inhomogeneous anisotropic media

The fact that light carries both linear and angular momentum is well-known to physicists. One application of the linear momentum of light is for optical tweezers, in which the refraction of a laser beam through a particle provides a reaction force that draws the particle towards the centre of the beam. The angular momentum of light can also be transfered to particles, causing them to spin. In fact, the angular momentum of light has two components that act through different mechanisms on various types of particle. This Review covers the creation of such beams and how their unusual intensity, polarization and phase structure has been put to use in the field of optical manipulation.

Tweezers with a twist

We demonstrate the transfer of information encoded as orbital angular momentum (OAM) states of a light beam. The transmitter and receiver units are based on spatial light modulators, which prepare or measure a laser beam in one of eight pure OAM states. We show that the information encoded in this way is resistant to eavesdropping in the sense that any attempt to sample the beam away from its axis will be subject to an angular restriction and a lateral offset, both of which result in inherent uncertainty in the measurement. This gives an experimental insight into the effects of aperturing and misalignment of the beam on the OAMmeasurement and demonstrates the uncertainty relationship for OAM.

Free-space information transfer using light beams carrying orbital angular momentum

We report an analysis of the orbital angular momentum of an optical beam misaligned with respect to a reference axis. Both laterally displaced and angularly deflected Laguerre–Gaussian beams are represented in terms of the superposition of azimuthal harmonics with well-defined orbital angular momentum. Simultaneous parallel displacement and angular tilt cause the coupling between azimuthal harmonics and therefore change the projection of the orbital angular momentum on the reference axis. Rotation of beams around the reference axis was simulated by attributing corresponding rotational frequency shifts to the components.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/046/pdf

Analysis of orbital angular momentum of a misaligned optical beam

We present an elaborated holographic technique for synthesis of optical beams possessing optical vortices with fractional topological charge. The technique is based on the production of sub-harmonic diffraction orders. The diffraction orders corresponding to the fundamental period have embedded vortices with integer topological charge and sub-harmonic diffraction orders have optical vortices with fractional topological charge. An analytical approach for charge-1/2 optical-vortex beam structure description is presented.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1464-4258/6/5/003/pdf

Synthesis and analysis of optical vortices with fractional topological charges

Transversal optical vortex

Holographic gratings with topological defects (branching of one or more fringes) are widely used for generating light beams with optical vortices (OV). This work presents an analysis of OV beams produced by binary computer-generated holograms enlightened by Gaussian beams centered at the fringe bifurcation point. Usually such beams are considered as analogs of the standard solutions of paraxial wave equation - Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) modes representing classical examples of OVs. However, the intensity profile and the whole process of their spatial evolution show important differences from the LG prototypes. In the case of integer topological charge, a created OV beam can be described by the special Kummer function, which allows referring to these beams as to "Kummer beams". Properties of Kummer beams are studied numerically and analytically. Main distinctions from the corresponding LG modes are much slower intensity decay at the beam periphery and much higher beam divergence; differences between the Kummer and LG beams grow with the OV topological charge.

V. A. Pas’ko

Papers

Free-space information transfer using light beams carrying orbital angular momentum

Analysis of orbital angular momentum of a misaligned optical beam

Synthesis and analysis of optical vortices with fractional topological charges

Transversal optical vortex

Structure of optical vortices produced by holographic gratings with "fork" geometry: Kummer beams