CAREER: Optical Vortices and Rotation

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Title: Optical Vortices and RotationNontechnical description Light with a spiral phase, or orbital angular momentum, has recently garnered a lot of interest, as a seminal piece of the 2014 Nobel prize-winning super-resolution microscopy technique. It can also be used to rotate objects and measure the rotation speed of objects, with sizes ranging from the macroscale (kilometers) to the nanoscale (nanometers). The research objective of this proposal is to study the relationship between orbital angular momentum and rotating objects. Orbital angular momentum can be used to measure rotation and the rotating objects themselves can be used to measure spiral phase content of laser beams. The results from the research will be far-reaching, with information about orbital angular momentum modal content essential for free-space communications and endoscopic super-resolution imaging (STED) for protein-level imaging in the human body. Additionally, rotation and the measurement of nanoparticles are important for microfluidics and biology, in particular for the treatment of disease. This fresh perspective on the interaction of rotating objects and orbital angular momentum will spawn new directions in imaging, spectroscopy, lithography, quantum optics, and medicine. Research results will disseminated to K-12, college and graduate students through outreach activities and research opportunities.Technical description Light with orbital angular momentum, or "twisted" light, was discovered in 1992, and subsequently has been applied to super-resolution imaging and high bandwidth communications. The proposed research takes an innovative approach to study the interaction of orbital angular momentum and rotating objects. Orbital angular momentum can be used to rotate objects, measure their speed and infer position, and the objects themselves can be used to measure the orbital angular momentum content of a light beam, potentially with much greater resolution than current methods. It is especially interesting to consider not only macroscopic objects but microscopic ones as well, such as nanoparticles and micromachines. The concepts in the research can be used for a number of high-impact areas including gyroscopes, remote sensing, nanoparticles for cancer treatment, communications links, and super-resolution microscopy and lithography. Fields ranging from physics to engineering to materials science will benefit from the research outcomes.