Spin Hall Shift Research Articles

Dual‐Polarization Huge Photonic Spin Hall Shift and Super‐Subwavelength Detecting Based on Topological Singularities in 1D Photonic Crystals

Dual‐Polarization Huge Photonic Spin Hall Shift and Super‐Subwavelength Detecting Based on Topological Singularities in 1D Photonic Crystals

Exotic spin-Hall effect in non-Hermitian optical systems

Abstract We systematically explore the origin and evolution of the exceptional points (EP) when a light beam is scattered by a parity-time (PT)-symmetric system using a scattering matrix approach and a full-wave theory. It is demonstrated that the PT-symmetric system switches between symmetry and symmetry-breaking phases at the EPs, giving rise to singular features in the Fresnel coefficients and causing the spin-Hall effect (SHE) near the EPs to exhibit anomalous features such as significantly enhanced transverse spin-Hall shifts and additional in-plane spin-Hall shifts. This exotic SHE can be explained by the significant beam intensity distortion caused by the destructive interference between the spin-maintained normal modes and the spin-reversed abnormal modes in the scattered light. This phenomenon can further be understood in terms of vortex mode decomposition, wherein it can be interpreted as the competition and superposition of three vortex modes with topological charges of −1, 0, and 1, respectively. These findings elucidate the mechanism of the unusual SHE around the EPs and offer potential avenues for EP-based sensing and structured light manipulation.

Photonic spin Hall effect on the surface of two-dimensional black arsenic

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted considerable research interest due to their potential optoelectronics applications. Black arsenic (B-As), a cousin of black phosphorus, has exceptionally high anisotropy in physical properties. In this study, we report the photonic spin Hall effect on the surface of two-dimensional B-As, manifesting in both transverse and in-plane beam shifts. By applying the beam propagation model near the surface of anisotropic 2D materials, we demonstrate that B-As exhibits higher or comparable photonic spin Hall shifts due to its extreme anisotropy. Moreover, a substantial spin-dependent beam displacement is observed when the incidence conditions meet the Brewster angle. These findings hold potential for novel scientific research and device applications involving anisotropic two-dimensional atomic crystals.

Chirality-enabled topological phase transitions in parity-time symmetric systems

Photonic spin Hall effect (PSHE) in chiral PT-symmetric systems exhibits many exotic features, but the underlying physical mechanism has not been well elucidated. Here, through rigorous calculations based on full-wave theory, we reveal the physical mechanism of the exotic PSHE and identify a chirality-enabled topological phase transition. When circularly polarized light is incident on a chiral PT-symmetric system, the transmitted beam contains two components: a spin-flipped abnormal mode that acquires a geometric phase (exhibiting a vortex or a spin-Hall shift), and a spin-maintained normal mode that does not exhibit such a phase. If the phase difference between the cross-polarized Fresnel coefficients cannot be ignored, it results in a chirality-enabled phase and intensity distribution in the abnormal mode, which induces an exotic PSHE. Consequently, as the incident angle increases, a chirality-induced topological phase transition occurs, namely the transition from the vortex generation to the exotic PSHE. Finally, we confirm that the asymmetric and periodic PSHE in the chiral slab is also related to the phase difference between the cross-polarized Fresnel coefficients. These concepts and findings also provide an opportunity for unifying the phenomena of topological phase transitions in various spin-orbit photonic systems.

Measurement of the surface susceptibility of single-layer atomic crystal by the photonic spin Hall effect in momentum space

Fast and robust measurement of the surface susceptibility is still in urgent need for investigation and application of atomically thin crystals. In this work, we propose an effective method to measure the surface susceptibility of single-layer graphene by detecting the photonic spin Hall effect in momentum space. At a graphene interface, the beam separations with different spin states contain an angular component due to the existence of surface susceptibility. By implementing a postselection with real weak value in our scheme, the contribution of the spatial spin-Hall shift is excluded and the angular one is amplified for detection. It is demonstrated that treating the angular shift as a pointer allows for a reliable determination of the surface susceptibility. Our method may pave a way for the optical parameter characterization of two-dimensional atomic crystals via angular metrology.

Photonic spin Hall effect in uniaxially strained graphene

Graphene is one of the thinnest conductive materials which possesses unique mechanical, electronic, optical, and magnetic properties. Owing to its inherent unique mechanical flexibility and strength, it has potential applications in various flexible nanophotonic devices. In this paper, we present theoretical investigations of the spin Hall effect of a light beam reflected from the surface of the strained graphene substrate system subjected to uniaxial strain. Using appropriate boundary conditions for the incident and reflected beams based on the angular spectrum analysis, we derive mathematical expressions for the transverse photonic spin Hall effect (PSHE) for the strained graphene. By tuning the applied strain along zigzag and armchair orientations, we explore the giant PSHE in the graphene substrate system. We show the impact of chemical potential, incident photon energy, and applied strain on the photonic spin Hall shifts. We believe that the PSHE may thus serve as a versatile tool to probe the applied strain in novel 2D materials.

Role of beam parameters in the spin-orbit interactions of light.

We employ a full-wave theory to systematically investigate two types of spin-orbit interactions and their topological phase transitions for various light beams (e.g., Laguerre-Gaussian, Bessel, and Bessel-Gaussian beams) at optical interfaces, and explore the influence of beam parameters on the spin-Hall shift. It is demonstrated that at small-angle incidence, the beam profile and spin-Hall shift are significantly affected by the beam parameters (e.g., waist radius, radial index, azimuthal index, and cone angle), whereas at large-angle incidence, only the azimuthal index has a salient influence on them. We further find that the Bessel beam and the Gaussian-modulated ones (i.e., Laguerre-Gaussian and Bessel-Gaussian beams) have similar topological phase transition phenomena but different shifts. Quantitative dependences of beam parameters, such as waist radius, radial index, azimuthal index, and cone angle, on the shift are also presented. Our findings offer alternative degrees of freedom in controlling the topological phase transitions of light, and suggest a valuable insight for exploring the applications of SOIs of diverse light fields.

Tunable optical differential operation based on graphene at a telecommunication wavelength.

Optical differential operation based on the photonic spin Hall effect(SHE) has attracted extensive attention in image processing of edge detection, which has advantages of high speed, parallelism, and low power consumption. Here, we theoretically demonstrate tunable optical differential operation in a four-layered nanostructure of prism-graphene-air gap-substrate. It is shown that the spatial differentiation arises inherently from the photonic SHE. Furthermore, we find that the transverse spin-Hall shift induced by the photonic SHE changes dramatically near the Brewster angle with the incident angle increases at a telecommunication wavelength. Meanwhile, the Fermi energy of graphene and the thickness of the air gap can affect the transverse spin shift. Interestingly, we can easily adjust the Fermi energy of graphene in real time through external electrostatic field biasing, enabling fast edge imaging switching at a telecommunication wavelength. This may provide a potential way for future tunable spin-photonic devices, and open up more possible applications for artificial intelligence, such as target recognition, biomedical imaging, and edge detection.

Symmetry-breaking enabled topological phase transitions in spin-orbit optics.

The topological phase transitions (TPT) of light refers to a topological evolution from one type of spin-orbit interaction to another, which has been recently found in beam scattering at optical interfaces and propagation in uniaxial crystals. In this work, the focusing of off-axis and partially masked circular-polarization Gaussian beams are investigated by using of a full-wave theory. Moreover, two different types of spin-orbit interactions (i.e., spin-dependent vortex generation and photonic spin-Hall effect) in the focusing system are unified from the perspective of TPT. It is demonstrated that as the off-axis distance or the masked area increases, a TPT phenomenon in the focused optical field takes place, evolving from the spin-dependent vortex generation to the spin-Hall shift of the beam centroids. The intrinsic mechanism is attributed to the cylindrical symmetry-breaking of the system. This symmetry-breaking induced TPT based on the method of vortex mode decomposition is further examined. The main difference between the TPT phenomenon observed here and that trigged by oblique incidence at optical interfaces or oblique propagation in uniaxial crystals is also uncovered. Our findings provide fruitful insights for understanding the spin-orbit interactions in optics, providing an opportunity for unifying the TPT phenomena in various spin-orbit photonics systems.

Enhanced Spin Hall Shift by Multipoles of Different Orders in Spherical Particles

The spin–orbit interaction of light is universal in the process of light scattering, and an important aspect is the spin Hall effect. The spin Hall effect of light also exists in a three-dimensional (3D) system. When circularly polarized light is incident on a spherical particle, the transverse displacement of the particle relative to the scattering plane can be observed due to the spiraling of the Poynting vector in the far field. In general, the spin Hall shift of light is negligible and difficult to detect in experiments. In this paper, we use a high-refractive-index (HRI) core-shell structure to excite high-order multipoles and explore the interaction between different order multipoles to enhance the spin Hall shift in the microwave band. We show that there exist some angles that increase the spin Hall shift when two particular multipoles are equal and dominated. Our work provides a new perspective for understanding the interaction between light and particles and enhances the spin Hall shift of the sphere in the microwave band.

Strengthened Spin Hall Effect of Circularly Polarized Light Enabled by a Single-Layered Dielectric Metasurface.

The spin Hall effect of light, referring to the spin-dependent and transverse splitting of light at an optical interface, is an interface-dependent phenomenon. In contrast to this commonly accepted statement, it has been recently reported that the spin Hall effect under circularly polarized light is interface-independent. Despite this interface-independence, however, the reflection of the spin Hall shifted beam is mostly suppressed under near-normal incidence, where the spin Hall shift is large because of the handedness reversal that occurs during the reflection. Here we present a single-layered dielectric metasurface to realize the interface-independent and strengthened spin Hall effect of light. Numerical simulation results confirmed that the anisotropic geometry of the metasurface induced phase-reversed reflection for one linear polarization and phase-preserved reflection for the other, thereby strongly strengthening the reflection of the spin-Hall-shifted beam. Our work will pave a route toward the precise displacement of the beam at the nanoscale without perturbing its polarization state.

Chirality-assisted spin Hall effect of light in the vicinity of the quasi-antidual symmetry mode of a chiral sphere

The spin Hall shift (SHS) refers to a transverse shift in the scattering plane during the spin-orbit interaction (SOI). SHS is considerably small when light is scattered by a sphere due to the absence of unidirectional scattering. This work shows that the chiral property of a sphere can offer a platform to optimize the SOI by achieving nearly zero forward scattering with significant backward scattering. As a result, a polarization transformation takes place and the scattered field transfers its maximum spin angular momentum to orbital angular momentum. Consequently, an enhanced transversal shift is observed due to the momentum conservation of the scattered field. The results reveal that the shift strongly depends on the handedness of the chiral sphere and the helicity of the incident beam. Thus, offering an alternative paradigm for the quantitative measurement of chirality parameters of a single chiral nanoparticle. We hope that these results will potentially shed new light on the SOI of various forms that can find potential applications such as optical sensing, chiral resolution of single nanoparticles, precision measurements, and the manipulation of subwavelength nanoparticles.

Revealing a one-dimensional optically cloaked surface using the spin Hall effect of light.

The realization of an optical cloak that can hide a target object is no longer fiction, yet distinguishing the optically cloaked surface from our illusion remains an open problem. Here, the detection of a one-dimensional optically cloaked surface is presented by leveraging the spin Hall effect of light, the microscopic and transverse splitting of linearly polarized light at an optical interface into two circular polarizations. We first derive an analytical formula for the spin Hall shift at a planar surface with a linear phase gradient and demonstrate that the spin Hall effect of light at the cloaked surface differs from that at its perceived image. The theoretical description and numerical computation are generalized for a curved surface with a nonlinear phase gradient. Two approaches for examining optically cloaked surfaces are presented, in which the unknown incident angle and phase gradient are successfully reproduced. This work suggests the potential of the spin Hall effect of light in various applications, including anti-counterfeiting and security.

Asymmetric spin splitting of Laguerre-Gaussian beams in chiral PT-symmetric metamaterials.

We systematically study the spin Hall effect of light (SHEL) in chiral PT-symmetric metamaterials when Laguerre Gaussian beams (LG beams) are incident and discover that cross-polarization (rs p, rp s) and intrinsic orbital angular momentum (IOAM) result in an asymmetric splitting of left-spin circularly polarized (LCP) light and right-spin circularly polarized (RCP) light. Additionally, there are spin Hall shift peaks near |rpp | ≪ |rss | (rs s and rp p are Fresnel reflection coefficients). Altering the topological charge number ℓ, the chiral parameter κ, the dimensionless frequency M, and the incident angle θ may also influence the asymmetric spin splitting and displacement peak. We believe that this research will provide new ways to manipulate and enhance the asymmetric spin splitting of light and provide new applications for spin photonic devices.

Spin Hall Effect of Light: From Fundamentals To Recent Advancements

AbstractThe spin Hall effect of light (SHEL) is the microscopic splitting of light into two circular polarizations at the optical interface along the perpendicular direction. With the advent of metamaterials/metasurfaces and their fast‐developing applications, the SHEL has been garnering significant scientific interest. Here, the principle and recent developments in SHEL research is reviewed. A theoretical description of the SHEL is provided, including the formalism and general techniques. Also, recent studies on and applications of the SHEL are extensively reviewed, including the enhancement of the spin Hall shift and efficiency, implementation of dynamic tunability, elimination of polarization dependence, and precision measurements. The review is concluded with a discussion on the future direction and prospects of the SHEL.

Nanophotonic-assisted precision enhancement of weak measurement using spin Hall effect of light

Abstract The spin Hall effect of light, i.e., the microscopic and spin-dependent transverse splitting of linearly polarized light into circular polarizations at an optical interface, has been considered as a promising candidate for high-precision measurement when combined with a weak measurement technique. However, in those previous demonstrations, the precision is determined by the interface of interest, hindering its versatility. Here, by leveraging the direct correlation of precision with the spin Hall shift, we propose nanophotonic-assisted approaches to increase the precision of the weak measurement by controlling the spin Hall effect of light at the target interface. The refractive index sensing of an isotropic medium is demonstrated as a proof of concept, in which the precision can be increased, in principle, to infinity by placing an index-below-unity slab in the vicinity of the target interface. Furthermore, a single-layer metasurface comprising two-dimensional subwavelength patterns is introduced as an experimentally favorable platform. This study lays the foundation for nondestructive and high-precision investigation of unknown parameters of interfaces and will find wide sensing applications in material science, medical engineering, and other interdisciplinary fields.

Wavelength‐Scale Spin Hall Shift of Light with Morphology‐Enhanced Scattering Efficiency from Nanoparticles

AbstractSpin Hall (SH) shift of light from nanoparticles refers to the transverse displacement of scattered light due to spin–orbit interaction (SOI). Generally, the SH shift is small and suffers from inherent low scattering efficiency. In this paper, the SH shift and its corresponding scattering intensity are simultaneously enhanced for dual nanoparticles. Based on the generalized Lorentz‐Mie theory, the morphology of the nanoparticle is optimized to increase the scattering intensity while preserving the wavelength‐scale SH shift. The simultaneous enhancements are realized by manipulating the electric and magnetic dipolar modes to overlap at their resonances rather than the tails of the scattering. Meanwhile, a new pattern is identified on orbital momentum streamlines, revealing the near field's SOI. In addition, an experiment is proposed to detect the SH shifts in the far‐field observation plane. The scattering intensities from oblate spheroids are enhanced by one order of magnitude compared to the spherical counterparts. The findings may shed new light on the mechanism of light–matter interaction and facilitate the experimental detection of the SH effect of light.

Signature of the photonic spin Hall effect in monolayer MoS2 via weak measurement

We report the direct experimental evidence of the photonic spin Hall shift (PSHS) in monolayer M o S 2 for a fundamental Gaussian beam via a weak measurement scheme involving definite preselection and postselection spin states. We find that the PSHS is largely dependent on the angle of incidence, postselection angles, and polarization states along with specific ways of interaction of the light with the M o S 2 surface. Our findings reveal a unique signature linking angular positions at which the spin Hall shifts (SHS) (zero crossing) with the discontinuity in the phase difference ( ϕ P − ϕ S ) of the reflection coefficients further establishing the connection of the PSHS to the geometric phases of the light. An effective theoretical model is applied to confirm the experimental measurements. This paper, thus, deepens our understanding of the tiny spin-dependent splitting in monolayer M o S 2 , opening a new, to the best of our knowledge, avenue for the practical applications of the PSHSs.

Highly sensitive real-time detection of phase change process based on photonic spin Hall effect

Phase change materials, such as vanadium dioxide (VO2) and Titanium dioxide (Ti2O3) have received extensive attention because of the dramatic changes in their intrinsic properties during phase transitions. However, due to the rapid transition rate and wide dynamics, monitoring of processes is challenging. Previous detection methods are lack of speed and simplicity and require multiple interventions, which largely introduce human factors influencing the results and make it difficult to guarantee the accuracy and visualization. In this paper, the photonic spin Hall effect is used for real-time detection and highly sensitive analysis of the phase transition process of VO2 films. By incorporating with quantum weak measurement, the photonic spin-Hall shift acts as the pointer, and the phase transition process of VO2 is characterized effectively. The high measurement resolution with 63 S/(m μm) is achieved due to weak-value amplification. In our scheme, it does not involve any mechanical adjustment of optical components, thus enabling real-time, visual, non-contact detection of dynamic phase transition processes.

Photonic spin Hall effect in twisted few-layer anisotropic two-dimensional atomic crystals

Motivated by the emergence of stacked two-dimensional materials with a twist angle, we examine the photonic spin Hall effect in twisted few-layer anisotropic two-dimensional atomic crystals. By developing a generalized model for arbitrary layers of anisotropic two-dimensional atomic crystals, the photonic spin Hall effect of twisted few-layer black phosphorus without interlayer interaction is demonstrated and discussed. We find that the twist between different layers results in the arise of the in-plane spin Hall shift, and the shift is very sensitive to the twist angle. While the in-plane spin Hall shifts are symmetric about the origin as a function versus the twist angle, the transverse spin Hall shifts are symmetric about the axis. And the photonic spin Hall shifts exhibit periodic changes versus the thickness of the interlayer due to the optical Fabry-P\'erot resonance. The results may provide different aspects for analysis and control of the optical properties of twisted multilayer two-dimensional materials.