Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 163905 (2006) [4 pages]Optical Spin-to-Orbital Angular Momentum Conversion in Inhomogeneous Anisotropic Media
See accompanying Physics Focus 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. © 2006 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.163905
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.163905
PACS:
42.25.−p, 42.60.Jf, 42.79.−e, 42.81.Gs
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