TY - GEN
T1 - Spin-to-orbital angular momentum exchange via reflection from a cone
AU - Mansuripur, Masud
AU - Zakharian, Armis R.
AU - Wright, Ewan M.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - In a recent paper we explored the novel reflection properties of several conical optical elements using numerical simulations based on Maxwell's equations. For example, in the case of a hollow metallic cone having an apex angle of 90°, a circularly-polarized incident beam acquires, upon reflection, the opposite spin angular momentum in addition to an orbital angular momentum twice as large as the spin, whereas a 90° cone made of a transparent material in which the incident light suffers two total internal reflections before returning, may be designed to endow the retro-reflected beam with different mixtures of orbital and spin angular momenta. In the present paper we introduce an approximate analysis based on the Jones calculus to elucidate the physics underlying the reflection properties, and we point to the strengths and weaknesses of the approach.
AB - In a recent paper we explored the novel reflection properties of several conical optical elements using numerical simulations based on Maxwell's equations. For example, in the case of a hollow metallic cone having an apex angle of 90°, a circularly-polarized incident beam acquires, upon reflection, the opposite spin angular momentum in addition to an orbital angular momentum twice as large as the spin, whereas a 90° cone made of a transparent material in which the incident light suffers two total internal reflections before returning, may be designed to endow the retro-reflected beam with different mixtures of orbital and spin angular momenta. In the present paper we introduce an approximate analysis based on the Jones calculus to elucidate the physics underlying the reflection properties, and we point to the strengths and weaknesses of the approach.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80054068782&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=80054068782&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1117/12.899890
DO - 10.1117/12.899890
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:80054068782
SN - 9780819487070
T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
BT - Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation VIII
T2 - Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation VIII
Y2 - 21 August 2011 through 25 August 2011
ER -