CAREER: Optical Vortices and Rotation

具有螺旋相位或轨道角动量的光最近引起了很多兴趣，作为2014年诺贝尔奖得主超分辨率显微镜技术的开创性作品。它还可以用于旋转物体和测量物体的旋转速度，其尺寸范围从宏观尺度（公里）到纳米尺度（纳米）。本课题的研究目的是研究轨道角动量与旋转物体之间的关系。轨道角动量可以用来测量旋转，旋转物体本身可以用来测量激光束的螺旋相位。这项研究的结果将是深远的，关于轨道角动量模态内容的信息对于自由空间通信和内窥镜超分辨率成像（STED）对于人体蛋白质水平成像至关重要。此外，纳米颗粒的旋转和测量对微流体学和生物学，特别是对疾病的治疗非常重要。这种关于旋转物体和轨道角动量相互作用的新观点将在成像、光谱学、光刻、量子光学和医学方面产生新的方向。研究成果将通过外展活动和研究机会传播给K-12、大学和研究生。具有轨道角动量的光，或“扭曲”光，于1992年被发现，随后被应用于超分辨率成像和高带宽通信。本研究采用了一种创新的方法来研究轨道角动量与旋转物体的相互作用。轨道角动量可以用来旋转物体，测量它们的速度和推断位置，物体本身可以用来测量光束的轨道角动量含量，可能比目前的方法具有更高的分辨率。不仅考虑宏观物体，而且考虑微观物体，如纳米粒子和微型机器，这是特别有趣的。研究中的概念可以用于许多高影响力的领域，包括陀螺仪、遥感、用于癌症治疗的纳米颗粒、通信链路、超分辨率显微镜和光刻。从物理学到工程学再到材料科学等领域都将受益于这些研究成果。

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.