Physics (Internal)

Summer Student Seminar

This event is part of the Graduate Student Council Events.

Aaron Greenberg (Photonics)
Single-shot, sub-picometer-resolution spectrometer using topologically enhanced optical activity of OAM fiber modes

Light with helical wavefronts carry orbital angular momentum (OAM) that twist around depending on its topological charge. These beams can also carry spin angular momentum (SAM), which just depends on whether it is right or left circularly polarized. With the development of vortex fiber, we can now stably propagate these kinds of modes over long distances, which have allowed these OAM beams to become useful in STED microscopy, communication, laser machining, etc. Here I will introduce a new application of these OAM beams: high resolution spectroscopy. This is accomplished by leveraging the spin-orbit interaction (SOI) of light, and by exploiting the inherent circular birefringence of vortex fiber modes yielding giant, tailorable, and wavelength-dependent optical activity.