Open AccessObservation of the in-plane spin separation of light
Author(s) -
Yi Qin,
Yudong Li,
Xiaobo Feng,
YunFeng Xiao,
Hong Yang,
Qihuang Gong
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.19.009636
Subject(s) - optics , plane of incidence , transverse plane , spin (aerodynamics) , light beam , physics , plane (geometry) , spin hall effect , dielectric , planar , nanometre , plane wave , materials science , optoelectronics , spin polarization , electron , quantum mechanics , geometry , mathematics , structural engineering , computer graphics (images) , computer science , thermodynamics , engineering
We report on the observation of the spin separation of light in the plane of incidence when a linearly polarized beam is reflected or refracted at a planar dielectric interface. Remarkably, the in-plane spin separation reaches hundreds of nanometers, comparable with the transverse spin separation induced by the well-known spin Hall effect of light. The observation is properly explained by considering the in-plane spread of wave-vectors. This study thus offers new insights on the spinoptics and may provide a potential method to control light in optical nanodevices.