Year: 2022
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The chirality of electromagnetic beams is a property relevant to various nanophotonic applications, yet this property is challenging to characterize at the nanoscale. We have found that electromagnetic beam chirality can be probed through the optical force exerted on a cantilevered, chiral tip. We demonstrate that the differential force, i.e. the difference in the force induced by a focused beam and an auxiliary beam of opposite handedness, exhibits a direct correspondence to the beam’s time-averaged helicity density. Measurement of the differential force yields spatially resolved maps of the helicity density of tightly focused beams with sub-diffraction limited resolution.
Source: Complex Light and Optical Forces
DOI: 10.1117/12.2626327
Authors: Abid Anjum Sifat, Filippo Capolino, Eric Potma
Institution: University of California, Irvine
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3196927912