Generalized analytic formula for spin Hall effect of light: shift enhancement and interface independence

Minkyung Kim,Junsuk Rho,Dasol Lee,Yeseul Kim

doi:10.1515/nanoph-2021-0794

Minkyung Kim, Junsuk Rho + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2021-0794

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Abstract

Abstract The spin Hall effect of light (SHEL) is the microscopic spin-dependent splitting of light at an optical interface. Whereas the spin Hall shift under linearly polarized light is well-formulated, studies on the SHEL under elliptically or circularly polarized light have primarily relied on numerical computation. In this work, an explicit analytic formula for the spin Hall shift is derived under arbitrarily polarized incidence. Furthermore, from this explicit expression, we demonstrate that the spin Hall shift can be enhanced at any incident angle by using polarization degree of freedom and is independent of the Fresnel coefficients of an interface under circularly polarized light. The analytic formula will help us understand the SHEL under general polarization intuitively and realize unprecedented modulation of the SHEL.

Highlights

The light that is reflected or refracted at an optical interface experiences a microscopic spin-dependent spatialThis symmetrical splitting in shift and intensity, occurs only under linearly polarized incidence at an interface whose eigenmodes are linearly polarized
Whereas the spin Hall shift under linearly polarized light is well-formulated, studies on the spin Hall effect of light (SHEL) under elliptically or circularly polarized light have primarily relied on numerical computation
An explicit analytic formula for the spin Hall shift is derived under arbitrarily polarized incidence

Summary

Introduction

This symmetrical splitting in shift and intensity, occurs only under linearly polarized incidence at an interface whose eigenmodes are linearly polarized. I.e., if the incidence is elliptically or circularly polarized and/or the interface does not preserve the polarization states of s- or p-polarized incidence, the splitting is no longer symmetrical [23,24,25,26]. In such cases, the magnitudes of the spin Hall shift of left circularly polarized (LCP) and right circularly polarized (RCP) components are generally not equal. We believe that the analytic expression of the spin Hall shift under arbitrarily polarized incidence would be a great starting point to reveal numerous fascinating spin Hall-related phenomena in addition to the two specific examples considered in this work and will bring out interesting follow-up studies

Formula for spin Hall shift under arbitrarily polarized incidence

Enhancement of spin Hall shift via polarization control

Interface-independent spin Hall shift under circularly polarized incidence

Conclusions