Researchers Create Controllable Optical Tornadoes in Liquid Crystal Microcavity
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An international research team has successfully generated swirling 'optical tornadoes' within a microscopic liquid crystal structure. The light traps, known as torons, can be controlled with an external electric voltage and produce coherent light with orbital angular momentum. This marks the first time such light has been obtained in a ground state.
Facts First
- Swirling 'optical tornadoes' created inside an extremely small structure by researchers from the University of Warsaw, Military University of Technology, and Université Clermont Auvergne.
- Torons act as microscopic traps for light within liquid crystals, forming tightly twisted spirals closed into a ring.
- The size and properties of the light trap can be controlled using an external electric voltage.
- Light carrying orbital angular momentum was obtained in the ground state for the first time.
- The resulting light is coherent and behaves like laser light, with a well-defined energy and emission direction.
What Happened
Researchers led by Prof. Jacek Szczytko from the University of Warsaw... have created swirling 'optical tornadoes' inside a microscopic structure. They used liquid crystal samples prepared by Joanna Mędrzycka and Dr. Eva Oton. Within these liquid crystals, special defects called torons form tightly twisted spirals that act as microscopic traps for light. The researchers placed the toron inside an optical microcavity, a structure of mirrors that confines light. The spatially variable birefringence within the system acts as a synthetic magnetic field for light. The team obtained light carrying orbital angular momentum in its lowest-energy ground state for the first time.
Why this Matters to You
This advance in manipulating light at a microscopic scale may lead to future technologies in communications and computing. The ability to control the properties of these light traps with an external voltage could enable more efficient and tunable optical devices. The coherent, laser-like light produced could be harnessed for applications in sensing or information processing.
What's Next
The theoretical model for the phenomenon was developed by Prof. Guillaume Malpuech, Prof. Dmitry Solnyshkov, and post-doc Daniil Bobylev. The researchers introduced a laser dye into the system to confirm their results. Further research may explore practical applications of these controllable optical tornadoes in photonic technologies.