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Mechanical torsional oscillations driven by the angular momentum of light

Project description

Breakthrough technology to transfer the angular momentum of light

Light carries angular momentum, meaning that it can transfer it to matter. So far, there are no optomechanical devices allowing transduction of the angular momentum of light independent of the spin (polarisation) and orbital angular momentum. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the OSCILLIGHT project will tackle this by exploiting the inherent vector nature of angular momentum. As proof of concept, researchers will develop a mechanical oscillator that enables the transfer of angular momentum of light. The oscillator size will be comparable to that of on-chip photonic systems. Project activities will help keep Europe on the path to being a leader in the development of digital, enabling technologies for micro/nanoelectronics and photonics.

Objective

The ability of light to carry angular momentum has been the subject of an active scientific research since the beginning of 20th century, and yet the knowledge in this area still has many gaps and overlooked possibilities for technological innovation. In particular, a non-dissipative technology enabling an optomechanical transduction of the angular momentum irrespective of its spin or orbital nature is yet to be achieved. The project “OSCILLIGHT” offers an original solution to this problem by exploiting the inherent vector nature of angular momentum. During the two-year fellowship at University of Bordeaux (France), Dr. Georgiy Tkachenko (Researcher) guided by Dr. Etienne Brasselet (Supervisor) will realize proof-of-concept experimental demonstrations of the universal transfer of angular momentum that will lead to the implementation of a mechanical oscillator, whose size will eventually make it compatible with on-chip photonic systems. This work will therefore answer the key strategic orientation of the European Commission towards the development of digital, enabling and emerging technologies for micro/nanoelectronics and photonics.
The proposed research is timely, as the scientific literature over the last 5 years has seen the increasing emergence of studies on integrated optomechanical devices, including those driven by angular momentum of light. After the last few years of the relevant preparatory work done by the Supervisor, his students and collaborators, the stage is now set for an effective implementation of this proposal, and the Researcher is the perfect candidate for the leading role to be played under the Supervisor’s guidance. Most importantly, the successful realization of this project will be beneficial to both the host university and the Researcher’s career path to securing a stable academic position and eventually leading his own research group.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITE DE BORDEAUX
Net EU contribution
€ 211 754,88
Address
PLACE PEY BERLAND 35
33000 Bordeaux
France

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Region
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Aquitaine Gironde
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data
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