Like the eletron, the photon carries spin and orbital angular momentum caused by the polarization and the spatial phase distribution of light, respectively. Since the first observation of an optical vortex beam with orbital angular momentum (OAM), the use of an optical vortex beam has led to further studies on the light-matter interaction, the quantum nature of light, and a number of applications. In this article, using a metasurface with geometrical phase, we introduce the fundamental origins and some important applications of light with spin-orbit angular momentum as examples, including optical vortex tweezer and quantum entanglement of the spin-orbital angular momentum.
Revisit: principle of transverse flow measurement by using an optical vortex beam in cylindrical coordinates