Orbital angular momentum conversion of acoustic vortex beams via planar lattice coupling

Orbital angular momentum(OAM)conversion is critical in understanding interactions between a structural sound field and a planar lattice.Herein,we explore the evolution of a monochromatic acoustic vortex beam(AVB)that is scattered by a phononic crystal(PnC)or a correlated random lattice.The phenomenon is ascribed to the enhanced orbit–orbit angular momentum coupling induced by the band structure.By modifying the coupling condition,accurate and continuous micromanipulation of AVBs can be achieved,including the transverse/lateral gravity shift,the dynamics of the phase singularities,and the spatial distribution of acoustic pressure,etc.This research provides insight to the inhomogeneous coupling of AVBs with both propagating Bloch waves and localized Anderson modes,and may facilitate development of novel OAM-based acoustic devices for active sound field manipulation.

Diffraction deep neural network-based classification for vector vortex beams

The vector vortex beam(VVB)has attracted significant attention due to its intrinsic diversity of information and has found great applications in both classical and quantum communications.However,a VVB is unavoidably affected by atmospheric turbulence(AT)when it propagates through the free-space optical communication environment,which results in detection errors at the receiver.In this paper,we propose a VVB classification scheme to detect VVBs with continuously changing polarization states under AT,where a diffractive deep neural network(DDNN)is designed and trained to classify the intensity distribution of the input distorted VVBs,and the horizontal direction of polarization of the input distorted beam is adopted as the feature for the classification through the DDNN.The numerical simulations and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme has high accuracy in classification tasks.The energy distribution percentage remains above 95%from weak to medium AT,and the classification accuracy can remain above 95%for various strengths of turbulence.It has a faster convergence and better accuracy than that based on a convolutional neural network.

Tailoring electron vortex beams with customizable intensity patterns by electron diffraction holography

An electron vortex beam(EVB) carrying orbital angular momentum(OAM) plays a key role in a series of fundamental scientific researches, such as chiral energy-loss spectroscopy and magnetic dichroism spectroscopy. So far, almost all the experimentally created EVBs manifest isotropic doughnut intensity patterns. Here, based on the correlation between local divergence angle of electron beam and phase gradient along azimuthal direction, we show that free electrons can be tailored to EVBs with customizable intensity patterns independent of the carried OAM. As proof-of-concept, by using computer generated hologram and designing phase masks to shape the incident free electrons in the transmission electron microscope, three structured EVBs carrying identical OAM are tailored to exhibit completely different intensity patterns. Furthermore, through the modal decomposition, we quantitatively investigate their OAM spectral distributions and reveal that structured EVBs present a superposition of a series of different eigenstates induced by the locally varied geometries. These results not only generalize the concept of EVB, but also demonstrate an extra highly controllable degree of freedom for electron beam manipulation in addition to OAM.

Propagation of Airy Gaussian vortex beams in uniaxial crystals

The propagation dynamics of the Airy Gaussian vortex beams in uniaxial crystals orthogonal to the optical axis has been investigated analytically and numerically. The propagation expression of the beams has been obtained. The propagation features of the Airy Gaussian vortex beams are shown with changes of the distribution factor and the ratio of the extraordinary refractive index to the ordinary refractive index. The correlations between the ratio and the maximum intensity value during the propagation, and its appearing distance have been investigated.

Tight focusing of axially symmetric polarized vortex beams

Tight focusing of axially symmetric polarized vortex beams is studied numerically based on vector diffraction theory. The mathematical expressions for the focused fields are derived. Simulation results show that the focused fields and phase distributions at focus are largely influenced by both the polarization order and topological charge of the incident beams. Moreover, focal spots with flat-topped or tightly-focused patterns can be flexibly achieved by carefully choosing the polar- ization order and the topological charge, which confirms the potential of such beams in wide applications, such as optical tweezers, laser printing, lithography, and material processing.

Experimental verification on tightly focused radially polarized vortex beams

The theoretical and experimental results of tightly focused radially polarized vortex beams are demonstrated. An auto-focus technology is introduced into the measurement system in order to enhance the measurement precision, and the radially polarized vortex beams are generated by a liquid-crystal polarization converter and a vortex phase plate. The focused fields of radially polarized vortex beams with different topological charges at numerical apertures （NAs） of 0.65 and 0.85 are measured respectively, and the results indicate that the total intensity distribution at focus is dependent not only on the NA of the focusing objective lens and polarization pattern of the beam but also on the topological charge l of the beam. Some unique focusing properties of radially polarized vortex beams with fractional topological charges are presented based on numerical calculations. The experimental verification paves the way for some practical applications of radially polarized vortex beams, such as in optical trapping, near-field microscopy, and material processing.

Paraxial propagation of cosh-Airy vortex beams in chiral medium

Propagation dynamics of the cosh-Airy vortex(CAiV) beams in a chiral medium is investigated analytically with Huygens–Fresnel diffraction integral formula. The results show that the CAiV beams are split into the left circularly polarized vortex(LCPV) beams and the right circularly polarized vortex(RCPV) beams with different propagation trajectories in the chiral medium. We mainly investigate the effect of the cosh parameter on the propagation process of the CAiV beams.The propagation characteristics, including intensity distribution, propagation trajectory, peak intensity, main lobe's intensity, Poynting vector, and angular momentum are discussed in detail. We find that the cosh parameter affects the intensity distribution of the CAiV beams but not its propagation trajectory. As the cosh parameter increases, the distribution areas of the LCPV and RCPV beams become wider, and the side lobe's intensity and peak intensity become larger. Besides, the main lobe's intensity of the LCPV and RCPV beams increase with the increase of the cosh parameter at a farther propagation distance, which is confirmed by the variation trend of the Poynting vector. It is significant that we can vary the cosh parameter to control the intensity distribution, main lobe's intensity, and peak intensity of the CAiV beams without changing the propagation trajectory. Our results may provide some support for applications of the CAiV beams in optical micromanipulation.

Terahertz quasi-perfect vortex beam with integer-order and fractional-order generated by spiral spherical harmonic axicon

We propose a new method to generate terahertz perfect vortex beam with integer-order and fractional-order. A new optical diffractive element composed of the phase combination of a spherical harmonic axicon and a spiral phase plate is designed and called spiral spherical harmonic axicon. A terahertz Gaussian beam passes through the spiral spherical harmonic axicon to generate a terahertz vortex beam. When only the topological charge number carried by spiral spherical harmonic axicon increases, the ring radius of terahertz vortex beam increases slightly, so the beam is shaped into a terahertz quasi-perfect vortex beam. Importantly, the terahertz quasi-perfect vortex beam can carry not only integer-order topological charge number but also fractional-order topological charge number. This is the first time that vortex beam and quasi-perfect vortex beam with fractional-order have been successfully realized in terahertz domain and experiment.

Spatial quantum coherent modulation with perfect hybrid vector vortex beam based on atomic medium

The perfect hybrid vector vortex beam(PHVVB)with helical phase wavefront structure has aroused significant concern in recent years,as its beam waist does not expand with the topological charge(TC).In this work,we investigate the spatial quantum coherent modulation effect with PHVVB based on the atomic medium,and we observe the absorption characteristic of the PHVVB with different TCs under variant magnetic fields.We find that the transmission spectrum linewidth of PHVVB can be effectively maintained regardless of the TC.Still,the width of transmission peaks increases slightly as the beam size expands in hot atomic vapor.This distinctive quantum coherence phenomenon,demonstrated by the interaction of an atomic medium with a hybrid vector-structured beam,might be anticipated to open up new opportunities for quantum coherence modulation and accurate magnetic field measurement.

Optimization of extreme ultraviolet vortex beam based on high harmonic generation

In high harmonic generation(HHG),Laguerre–Gaussian(LG) beams are used to generate extreme ultraviolet(XUV)vortices with well-defined orbital angular momentum(OAM),which have potential applications in fields such as microscopy and spectroscopy.An experimental study on the HHG driven by vortex and Gaussian beams is conducted in this work.It is found that the intensity of vortex harmonics is positively correlated with the laser energy and gas pressure.The structure and intensity distribution of the vortex harmonics exhibit significant dependence on the relative position between the gas jet and the laser focus.The ring-like structures observed in the vortex harmonics,and the interference of quantum paths provide an explanation for the distinct structural characteristics.Moreover,by adjusting the relative position between the jet and laser focus,it is possible to discern the contributions from different quantum paths.The optimization of the HH vortex field is applicable to the XUV,which opens up a new way for exploiting the potential in optical spin or manipulating electrons by using the photon with tunable orbital angular momentum.

Propagation properties of chirped Airy vortex beams with x-polarization through uniaxial crystals

The propagation dynamics of a chirped Airy vortex（CAiV） beam with x-polarization in uniaxial crystals orthogonal to the optical axis is studied analytically and numerically. The effect of the ratio of extraordinary and ordinary refractive indices, the chirp parameter, as well as the propagation distance is analyzed, which shows that the focused position of the CAi V beams can be controlled through changing the ratio of the extraordinary and ordinary refractive indices. In addition,with the propagation distance increasing, the asymmetry of the intensity and the angular momentum of the CAi V beam during propagation becomes much more visible. The variation of the chirp parameters can change the attenuation velocity of the vortex as well.

Recent advances in generation of terahertz vortex beams andtheir applications

Last decade has witnessed a rapid development of the generation of terahertz(THz)vortex beams as well as their wide applications,mainly due to their unique combination characteristics of regular THz radiation and orbital angular momentum(OAM).Here we have reviewed the ways to generate THz vortex beams by two representative scenarios,i.e.,THz wavefront modulation via specific devices,and direct excitation of the helicity of THz vortex beams.The former is similar to those wavefront engineering devices in the optical and infrared(IR)domain,but just with suitable THz materials,while the latter is newly-developed in THz regime and some of the physical mechanisms still have not been explained explicitly enough though,which would provide both challenges and opportunities for THz vortex beam generation.As for their applications,thanks to the recent development of THz optics and singular optics,THz vortex beams have potentials to open doors towards a myriad of practice applications in many fields.Besides,some representative potential applications are evaluated such as THz wireless communication,THz super-resolution imaging,manipulating chiral matters,accelerating electron bunches,and detecting astrophysical sources.

Nonparaxial propagation properties of the chirped Airy Gaussian vortex beams in uniaxial crystals orthogonal to the optical axis

In this article, we investigate the nonparaxial propagation properties of the chirped Airy Gaussian vortex（CAiGV）beams in uniaxial crystals orthogonal to the optical axis analytically and numerically. We discuss how the linear chirp parameters, the quadratic chirp parameters, and the Gaussian factors influence the nonparaxial propagation dynamics of the CAiGV beams. The intensity, the energy flow, the beam center, and the angular momentum of the CAiGV beams are deeply investigated. It is shown that the Gaussian factors have a great effect on the intensity and the centroid positions of the CAiGV beams. With the Gaussian factors increasing, the intensity of CAiGV beams decreases rapidly. The main lobes of the transverse intensity distribution of the CAiGV beams are similar to triangles.

Tight focusing of partially polarized vortex beams by binary phase Fresnel zone plates

Based on vectorial Debye theory, the focusing properties of partially polarized vortex beam by high numerical aperture Fresnel zone plate are investigated. The effects of the numerical apertures of and the phase difference of binary phase Fresnel zone plates, the topological charge of vortex beam and the degree of polarization of incident beam on the intensity distribution and degree of coherence in the focal plane are investigated in detail. It is shown that elliptical light spots and the flat top beam can be obtained by selecting certain parameters. Studies of degree of coherence reveal that the degree of coherence between x and y components of the electric field, which is zero in the source plane, is improved in the focal plane for vortex beam, but it is hardly changed for the nonvortex beam. It is also proved that any two of the three electric field components Ex, Ey and Ez are completely coherent everywhere in the focal region if the incident light beam is linearly polarized.

Multiple off-axis acoustic vortices generated by dual coaxial vortex beams

As a kind of special acoustic field, the helical wavefront of an acoustic vortex（AV） beam is demonstrated to have a pressure zero with phase singularity at the center in the transverse plane. The orbital angular momentum of AVs can be applied to the field of particle manipulation, which attracts more and more attention in acoustic researches. In this paper,by using the simplified circular array of point sources, dual coaxial AV beams are excited by the even-and odd-numbered sources with the topological charges of l_E and l_O based on the phase-coded approach, and the composite acoustic field with an on-axis center-AV and multiple off-axis sub-AVs can be generated by the superimposition of the AV beams for｜l_E｜ ≠ ｜l_O｜. The generation of edge phase dislocation is theoretically derived and numerically analyzed for l_E=-l_O. The numbers and the topological charges as well as the locations of the center-AV and sub-AVs are demonstrated, which are proved to be determined by the topological charges of the coaxial AV beams. The proposed approach breaks through the limit of only one on-axis AV with a single topological charge along the beam axis, and also provides the feasibility of off-axis particle trapping with multiple AVs in object manipulation.

Asymmetrical spiral spectra and orbital angular momentum density of non-uniformly polarized vortex beams in uniaxial crystals

To explore the effect of non-uniform polarization on orbital angular momentum(OAM) in anisotropic medium, in this work investigated are the evolution of the spiral spectra and OAM densities of non-uniformly polarized vortex(NUPV)beams in uniaxial crystals propagating orthogonal to the optical axis, and also the case of uniformly polarized vortex(UPV)beams with left-handed elliptical polarization. In the input plane, the NUPV beams present their spiral spectra of m-mode concentrated at m = l ± 1 modes rather than m = l mode, and reveal the relation among topological charge l, mode of spiral spectra m and the power weight value Rmexpressed by l=∑^(∞)_(m)=-∞Rm. is still satisfied for UPV beams in uniaxially anisotropic crystals, whereas for NUPV beams their relations are no longer valid owing to non-uniform polarization. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that the asymmetrical distribution of power weight of spiral spectra and the non-zero value in the sum of longitudinal OAM densities originate from the initial non-uniform polarization and anisotropy in uniaxial crystals rather than topological charges. In addition, the relation between spiral spectrum and longitudinal OAM density is numerically discussed. This work may provide an avenue for OAM-based communications,optical metrology, and imaging by varying the initial non-uniform polarization.

Tight Focusing Properties of Azimuthally Polarized Pair of Vortex Beams through a Dielectric Interface

Tight focusing properties of an azimuthally polarized Gaussian beam with a pair of vortices through a dielectric interface is theoretically investigated by vector diffraction theory. For the incident beam with a pair of vortices of opposite topological charges, the vortices move toward each other, annihilate and revive in the vicinity of focal plane, which results in the generation of many novel focal patterns. The usable focal structures generated through the tight focusing of the double-vortex beams may find applications in micro-particle trapping, manipulation, and material processing, etc.

Comparison of three kinds of polarized Bessel vortex beams propagating through uniaxial anisotropic media

A comparison of differently polarized Bessel vortex beams propagating through a uniaxial anisotropic slab is discussed in terms of the vector wave function expansions.The magnitude profiles of electric field components, the transformation of polarization modes, and the distributions of orbital angular momentum(OAM) states of the reflected and transmitted beams for different incident angles are numerically simulated.The results indicate that the magnitude profiles of electric field components for different polarization modes are distinct from each other and have a great dependence on the incident angle,thus the transformation of polarization modes which reflects the change of energy can be affected largely.As compared to the x and circular polarization incidences, the reflected and transmitted beams for the radial polarization incidence suffer the fewest transformation of polarization modes, showing a better energy invariance.The distributions of OAM states of the reflected and transmitted beams for different polarization modes are diverse as well, and the derived OAM states of the transmitted beam for radial polarization present a focusing effect, concentrating on the state between two predominant OAM states.

Direct acceleration of electrons using two crossed Laguerre-Gaussian laser beams in vacuum

The basic physical characteristics of electrons accelerated by two linearly polarized and circularly symmetric crossed Laguerre-Gaussian （LG） laser beams with equal frequency and amplitude in vacuum are studied in detail. The condition, under which electrons can be accelerated effectively, and the energy gain are discussed.

Ultraviolet metalens and metalens array of focused vortex beams

The solar-blind ultraviolet(UV)wavelength is particularly interesting within the range of 200 nm–300 nm.Here,we propose a focusing metalens,focusing vortex beam(VB)metalens and metalens array that specifically work in the UV band to focus a beam or VB.Firstly,a high numerical aperture(NA)focusing metalens working at a wavelength of 214.2 nm was designed,and the NA reached 0.83.The corresponding conversion efficiency of the unit structure reached as high as 94%,and the full width at half maximum was only 117.2 nm.Metalenses with large NA can act as optical tweezers and can be applied to trap ultracold atoms and molecules.Secondly,a focused VB metalens in the wavelength range of200 nm–300 nm was also designed,which can convert polarized light into a VB and focus the VB simultaneously.Finally,a metalens array was developed to focus VBs with different topological charges on the same focal plane.This series of UV metalenses could be widely used in UV microscopy,photolithography,photonics communication,etc.