Topic
Optical vortex
About: Optical vortex is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4880 publications have been published within this topic receiving 95889 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
TL;DR: In this article, a two-dimensional array of optical resonators with spatially varying phase response and subwavelength separation can imprint phase discontinuities on propagating light as it traverses the interface between two media.
Abstract: 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.
8,878 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that dislocations are to be expected whenever limited trains of waves, ultimately derived from the same oscillator, travel in different directions and interfere -for example in a scattering problem.
Abstract: When an ultrasonic pulse, containing, say, ten quasi-sinusoidal oscillations, is reflected in air from a rough surface, it is observed experimentally that the scattered wave train contains dislocations, which are closely analogous to those found in imperfect crystals. We show theoretically that such dislocations are to be expected whenever limited trains of waves, ultimately derived from the same oscillator, travel in different directions and interfere - for example in a scattering problem. Dispersion is not involved. Equations are given showing the detailed structure of edge, screw and mixed edge-screw dislocations, and also of parallel sets of such dislocations. Edge dislocations can glide relative to the wave train at any velocity; they can also climb, and screw dislocations can glide. Wavefront dislocations may be curved, and they may intersect; they may collide and rebound; they may annihilate each other or be created as loops or pairs. With dislocations in wave trains, unlike crystal dislocations, there is no breakdown of linearity near the centre. Mathematically they are lines along which the phase is indeterminate; this implies that the wave amplitude is zero.
2,312 citations
TL;DR: The authors survey the steady refinement of techniques used to create optical vortices, and explore their applications, which include sophisticated optical computing processes, novel microscopy and imaging techniques, the creation of ‘optical tweezers’ to trap particles of matter, and optical machining using light to pattern structures on the nanoscale.
Abstract: Thirty years ago, Coullet et al. proposed that a special optical field exists in laser cavities bearing some analogy with the superfluid vortex. Since then, optical vortices have been widely studied, inspired by the hydrodynamics sharing similar mathematics. Akin to a fluid vortex with a central flow singularity, an optical vortex beam has a phase singularity with a certain topological charge, giving rise to a hollow intensity distribution. Such a beam with helical phase fronts and orbital angular momentum reveals a subtle connection between macroscopic physical optics and microscopic quantum optics. These amazing properties provide a new understanding of a wide range of optical and physical phenomena, including twisting photons, spin-orbital interactions, Bose-Einstein condensates, etc., while the associated technologies for manipulating optical vortices have become increasingly tunable and flexible. Hitherto, owing to these salient properties and optical manipulation technologies, tunable vortex beams have engendered tremendous advanced applications such as optical tweezers, high-order quantum entanglement, and nonlinear optics. This article reviews the recent progress in tunable vortex technologies along with their advanced applications.
1,788 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe methods for creating large numbers of high-quality optical traps in arbitrary three-dimensional configurations and for dynamically reconfiguring them under computer control, allowing for mixed arrays of traps based on different modes of light, including optical vortices, axial line traps, optical bottles and optical rotators.
1,711 citations
TL;DR: Laser beams that contain phase singularities can be generated with computer-generated holograms, which in the simplest case have the form of spiral Fresnel zone plates.
Abstract: Laser beams that contain phase singularities can be generated with computer-generated holograms, which in the simplest case have the form of spiral Fresnel zone plates.
1,461 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 |
| 2025 | 114 |
| 2024 | 212 |
| 2023 | 343 |
| 2022 | 641 |
| 2021 | 379 |