Spin–orbit interactions of light

Abstract

Light carries spin and orbital angular momentum. These dynamical properties are determined by the polarization and spatial degrees of freedom of light. Modern nano-optics, photonics, and plasmonics, tend to explore subwavelength scales and additional degrees of freedom of structured, i.e., spatially-inhomogeneous, optical fields. In such fields, spin and orbital properties become strongly coupled with each other. We overview the fundamental origins and important applications of the main spin-orbit interaction phenomena in optics. These include: spin-Hall effects in inhomogeneous media and at optical interfaces, spin-dependent effects in nonparaxial (focused or scattered) fields, spin-controlled shaping of light using anisotropic structured interfaces (metasurfaces), as well as robust spin-directional coupling via evanescent near fields. We show that spin-orbit interactions are inherent in all basic optical processes, and they play a crucial role at subwavelength scales and structures in modern optics.