200-year-old light experiment used to create optical skyrmions for future computing

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a simpler method to produce optical skyrmions, stable swirling patterns in light, by reviving a 200-year-old optical effect known as the Poisson spot. Instead of relying on expensive metamaterials, the team shined a laser at a small circular disc to generate these structures. The findings were published in the journal Optica and led by Nanyang Assistant Professor Shen Yijie. The Poisson spot, which produces a bright point in the center of a disc's shadow, historically provided evidence that light behaves as waves. The researchers discovered that their setup naturally produced four types of optical skyrmions simultaneously: spin, Stokes, electric field, and magnetic field skyrmions. Computer simulations showed the structures as swirling arrays of arrows. The team believes this method could make optical skyrmion research more accessible and contribute to advances in data storage, communications, and computing technologies.

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Sources: ScienceDaily