Structure of Optical Vortices

Jennifer E. Curtis and David G. Grier
Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 133901 – Published 3 April 2003

Abstract

Helical modes of light can be focused into toroidal optical traps known as optical vortices, which are capable of localizing and applying torques to small volumes of matter. Measurements of optical vortices created with the dynamic holographic optical tweezer technique reveal an unsuspected dependence of their structure and angular momentum flux on their helicity. These measurements also provide evidence for a novel optical ratchet potential in practical optical vortices.

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  • Received 7 August 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.133901

©2003 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Jennifer E. Curtis and David G. Grier

  • Department of Physics, James Franck Institute and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637

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Issue

Vol. 90, Iss. 13 — 4 April 2003

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