Vortex generation reaches a new plateau

Surface engineering provides a powerful platform for vortex and structured wave generation Vortices are ubiquitous wonders found in the natural world, such as the circumstellar disc, mesocyclone, and water whirlpools. Those phenomena trigger curiosity in exploring the intrinsic physics as well as ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2017-08, Vol.357 (6352), p.645-645
Main Authors: Qiu, Cheng-Wei, Yang, Yuanjie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angular momentum
Current carriers
Electron beams
Image resolution
Optics
PERSPECTIVES
Vortices
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Summary:Surface engineering provides a powerful platform for vortex and structured wave generation Vortices are ubiquitous wonders found in the natural world, such as the circumstellar disc, mesocyclone, and water whirlpools. Those phenomena trigger curiosity in exploring the intrinsic physics as well as man-made generation mechanisms for niche applications. Optics is thus far one of the few areas in which intensive effort is dedicated to vortex research ( 1 – 3 ), and it was discovered that an optical vortex with integer topological charge l can carry a quantized orbital angular momentum (OAM) lℏ per photon (where ℏ is Planck's constant divided by h /2π) ( 1 ). Vortex beams have opened up possible avenues of application and are actively being pursued for classical and quantum communications, particle manipulation, and high-resolution imaging ( 2 ).
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aan6359