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• Vol. 3, Issue 6, 064001 (2021)
Jian Chen1, Chenhao Wan1、2, and Qiwen Zhan1、*
Author Affiliations
• 1University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shanghai, China
• 2Huazhong University of Science and Technology, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Wuhan, China
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Jian Chen, Chenhao Wan, Qiwen Zhan. Engineering photonic angular momentum with structured light: a review[J]. Advanced Photonics, 2021, 3(6): 064001 Copy Citation Text show less

Abstract

Structured light with inhomogeneous phase, amplitude, and polarization spatial distributions that represent an infinite-dimensional space of eigenstates for light as the ideal carrier can provide a structured combination of photonic spin and orbital angular momentum (OAM). Photonic spin angular momentum (SAM) interactions with matter have long been studied, whereas the photonic OAM has only recently been discovered, receiving attention in the past three decades. Although controlling polarization (i.e., SAM) alone can provide useful information about the media with which the light interacts, light fields carrying both OAM and SAM may provide additional information, permitting new sensing mechanisms and light–matter interactions. We summarize recent developments in controlling photonic angular momentum (AM) using complex structured optical fields. Arbitrarily oriented photonic SAM and OAM states may be generated through careful engineering of the spatial and temporal structures of optical fields. Moreover, we discuss potential applications of specifically engineered photonic AM states in optical tweezers, directional coupling, and optical information transmission and processing.

Video Introduction to the Article

 $Q=gω2(|E|2+|H|2),$(1)

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 $P=g2 Im[E*·(∇)E+H*·(∇)H].$(2)

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 $L=r×P.$(3)

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 $S=g2 Im(H*×H+E*×E).$(4)

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 $E(ρ,ϕ,z)=A(ρ,z)ex+mey1+|n|2 exp(jkz+jℓϕ),H=ez×E,$(5)

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 $S¯Q=σkωk,L¯Q=ℓkωk,$(6)

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 $Ei(r,φ)∝1cos θ·(A·ex+B·ey),A=ejπ/2(cos θ1 sin θ cos φ+sin θ1 cos φ sin φ−sin θ1 cos θ sin φ cos φ)−cos θ cos2 φ−sin2 φ,B=ejπ/2(cos θ1 sin θ sin φ−sin θ1 cos2 φ−sin θ1 cos θ sin2 φ)−cos θ cos φ sin φ+sin φ cos φ.$(7)

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 $α=1|E·E| Re(E*E·E),β=1|E·E| Im(E*E·E),γ=Im(E*×E),$(8)

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Copy Citation Text
Jian Chen, Chenhao Wan, Qiwen Zhan. Engineering photonic angular momentum with structured light: a review[J]. Advanced Photonics, 2021, 3(6): 064001