Chiral nano/micro structures fabricated by illumination of helical light fields

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18H03884
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 30:Applied physics and engineering and related fields
• Research Institution: Chiba University
• Principal Investigator: Omatsu Takashige 千葉大学, 大学院工学研究院, 教授 (30241938)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 光渦 / 軌道角運動量 / 光重合 / キラリティー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Structured light fields, such as optical vortex, carry an orbital angular momentum and an annular spatial form owing to their helical wavefronts. We investigated the photopolymerization with optical vortex illumination via single/two photon absorption. Interestingly, we have successfully fabricated a centimeter-scale self-written helical fiber by employing a non-diffraction visible optical vortex, e.g. a green higher order Bessel beam via both single and two photon absorption processes. Also, the fabricated helical fibers act as a mode convertor from a Gaussian mode to a vortex mode. Such fiber fabrication can be well understood by spatial soliton effects based on nonlinear Schrodinger equation.

Free Research Field

量子光工学・応用光学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、光渦を照射するだけで光重合反応を物理的に制御して螺旋ファイバーを創成できることを実証した。本研究の成果は、間違いなく光科学・物質科学・デバイス工学にパラダイムシフトをもたらす。螺旋ファイバーのみならず、多次元の螺旋構造体を光渦照射だけで創成できるようになれば、「光渦に立脚したキラルデバイス工学」という新学術領域を開拓できる。