Realization of vortex pair and its application in optical tweezers

Abstract: As one fundamental property of light, the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photon has elicited widespread interest. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that the OAM conversion of light without spin state can occur in homogeneous and isotropic medium when a line-variant locally linearly polarized (LVLLP) beam is strongly focused by a high numerical aperture (NA) objective lens. The high-NA objective lens here acts as a modulator that enables the spin-to-orbital OAM conversion of the two components of left and right circular vibrations of the input SDLLP beam spatially separated. Hence, partial conversion from linear state to conjugate OAM states takes place, resulting in helical phases with opposite directions for the longitudinal component of the two foci. Furthermore, such customized light field can be used to identify and separate chiral objects in optical tweezers.