Open AccessAzo-polymer film twisted to form a helical surface relief by illumination with a circularly polarized Gaussian beam
Author(s) -
Keigo Masuda,
Shoko Nakano,
Daisuke Barada,
M. Kumakura,
Katsuhiko Miyamoto,
Takashige Omatsu
Publication year - 2017
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.25.012499
Subject(s) - optics , angular momentum , circular polarization , angular momentum of light , helicity , isotropy , physics , light beam , optical vortex , orbital angular momentum of light , circular motion , materials science , beam (structure) , total angular momentum quantum number , angular momentum coupling , classical mechanics , quantum mechanics , microstrip
A helical surface relief can be created in an azo-polymer film simply by illuminating circularly polarized light with spin angular momentum and without any orbital angular momentum. The helicity of the surface relief is determined by the sign of the spin angular momentum. The illumination of circularly polarized light induces orbital motion of the azo-polymer to shape the helical surface relief as an intermediate form; a subsequent transformation to a non-helical bump-shaped relief with a central peak creates a final form with additional exposure time. The mechanism for the formation of such a helical surface relief was also theoretically analyzed using the formula for the optical radiation force in a homogeneous and isotropic material.