Related papers: Precise position- and angular-controllable optical…
We demonstrate experimentally a method of all-optical selective rotational control in gas mixtures. Using an optical centrifuge - an intense laser pulse whose linear polarization rotates at an accelerated rate, we simultaneously excite two…
A new physical mechanism to achieve spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion based on the interaction of an intense circularly polarized (CP) laser beam with a plane foil is presented and studied for the first time. It has been verified…
We propose and demonstrate a novel vortex Airy beam which is a superposition of an Airy beam and its laterally sheared beam with a $\pi/2$ phase shift. This new-type of vortex Airy beam exhibits stable propagation dynamics, wherein its…
We use Raman-detuned laser pulses to achieve spatially-varying control of the amplitude and phase of the spinor order parameter of a Bose-Einstein condensate. We present experimental results confirming precise radial and azimuthal control…
Precise manipulation of small objects using light holds transformative potential across diverse fields. While research in optical trapping and manipulation predominantly relies on the attraction of solid matter to light intensity maxima,…
Neutral atoms trapped by laser light are amongst the most promising candidates for storing and processing information in a quantum computer or simulator. The application certainly calls for a scalable and flexible scheme for addressing and…
Optical vortices carrying orbital angular momentum offer additional degrees of freedom. According to the orientation of orbital angular momentum, optical vortices can be classified into spatial optical vortex beam carrying…
Selective single beam tweezers open tremendous perspectives in microfluidics and microbiology for the micromanipulation, assembly and mechanical properties testing of microparticles, cells and microorganisms. In optics, single beam optical…
We demonstrate a compact piezoelectric-driven micropipette launcher for localized in-vacuum delivery of nano- and microparticles into optical traps. The launcher has been integrated into multiple optical trapping setups, including a…
Single atoms are interesting candidates for studying quantum optics and quantum information processing. Recently, trapping and manipulation of single atoms using tight optical dipole traps have generated considerable interest. Here we…
We designed a metallic programmable mirror for optical wavelengths made up of a large number of discrete steps which can be moved independently by actuators. The device is able to easily reshape an incident beam, imprinting on it an optical…
Dirac vortices, originally studied in quantum field theories to predict localized zero-energy modes, were recently realized in photonics, leading to Dirac vortex cavities. With topological protection, Dirac vortex cavities offer robust…
High-resolution addressing of individual ultracold atoms, trapped ions or solid state emitters allows for exquisite control in quantum optics experiments. This becomes possible through large aperture magnifying optics that project…
The rapidly developing field of optomechanics aims at the combined control of optical and mechanical (solid-state or atomic) modes. In particular, laser cooled atoms have been used to exploit optomechanical coupling for self-organization in…
Pulsed visible lasers either by Q-switching or mode locking have been attracting intense attentions both in solid-state laser and fiber laser. Here, we report on the simultaneous manipulation of reconfigurable sub-pulse sequences and…
Vortex-based single-beam tweezers have the ability to precisely and selectively move a wide range of objects, including particles, bubbles, droplets, and cells with sizes ranging from the millimeter to micrometer scale. In 2017, Karlsen and…
The insight that optical vortex beams carry orbital angular momentum (OAM), which emerged in Leiden about 30 years ago, has since led to an ever expanding range of applications and follow-up studies. This paper starts with a short personal…
Vortex beams are a type of structured light characterized by phase rotation around the propagation axis, resulting in orbital angular momentum. Their properties make them useful in various applications such as high-resolution microscopy,…
Twisted light beams, or optical vortices, have been used to drive the circular motion of microscopic particles in optical tweezers and have been shown to generate vortices in quantum gases. Recent studies have established that electric…
We demonstrate a pump-probe scheme in which an atomic vapor is optically pumped with circularly polarized light and probed with a vector vortex beam. The pump induces a macroscopic magnetization in the medium, which gives rise to…