Radwell, N., Hawley, R.D., Götte, J.B. and Franke-Arnold, S. (2016) Achromatic vector vortex beams from a glass cone. Nature Communications, 7, 10564. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms10564) (PMID:26861191) (PMCID:PMC4749967)
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Abstract
The reflection of light is governed by the laws first described by Augustin-Jean Fresnel: on internal reflection, light acquires a phase shift, which depends on its polarization direction with respect to the plane of incidence. For a conical reflector, the cylindrical symmetry is echoed in an angular variation of this phase shift, allowing us to create light modes with phase and polarization singularities. Here we observe the phase and polarization profiles of light that is back reflected from a solid glass cone and, in the case of circular input light, discover that not only does the beam contain orbital angular momentum but can trivially be converted to a radially polarized beam. Importantly, the Fresnel coefficients are reasonably stable across the visible spectrum, which we demonstrate by measuring white light polarization profiles. This discovery provides a highly cost-effective technique for the generation of broadband orbital angular momentum and radially polarized beams.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Radwell, Dr Neal and Goette, Dr Joerg and Franke-Arnold, Professor Sonja and Hawley, Mr Ryan |
| Authors: | Radwell, N., Hawley, R.D., Götte, J.B., and Franke-Arnold, S. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Research Group: | Optics |
| Journal Name: | Nature Communications |
| Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2016 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Nature Communications 7:10564 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
| Data DOI: | 10.5525/gla.researchdata.243 |
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