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10 September 2013 The q-plate and its future
Lorenzo Marrucci
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Journal of Nanophotonics, Vol. 7, Issue 1, 078598 (September 2013). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JNP.7.078598
Abstract
A thin light beam, such as that emitted by a laser, may possess a hidden rotational structure, invisible to the naked eye. This structure is rooted in the electromagnetic wave nature of light and it takes two distinct forms, which may be dubbed spin and twist. Spin is associated with the rotation of the electric and magnetic fields oscillating within the optical wave—i.e., the circular polarization of light. Twist instead occurs in light waves having a helical-shaped (or twisted) wavefront and an optical vortex located at the beam axis. When a free material particle absorbs light having spin or twist, it is itself made to spin—in other words, the light exerts a rotational form of radiation pressure, showing that this kind of light carries angular momentum. More specifically, the angular momentum of light having circular polarization is named as spin angular momentum (SAM), while that associated with a spiral wavefront is called orbital angular momentum (OAM). The OAM of light has recently been attracting much attention for its possible technological applications in the areas of particle manipulation, optical sensing, and classical and quantum optical communication.
© The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.
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Lorenzo Marrucci "The q-plate and its future," Journal of Nanophotonics 7(1), 078598 (10 September 2013). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JNP.7.078598
Published: 10 September 2013
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Cited by 61 scholarly publications and 1 patent.
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KEYWORDS
Polarization
Quantum communications
Quantum information
Particles
Photon polarization
Liquid crystals
Optical components
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