Generation of two beams of light carrying spin and orbital angular momenta of opposite handedness.

A new hybrid plasmonic structure that can generate two light beams carrying spin and orbital angular momenta of opposite handedness is proposed and numerically demonstrated. In this design, hybrid plasmonic sections are used to make light beams spin and twist, and a directional coupler structure with two output ports is used to generate opposite handedness. This design is expected to unlock the full potential of optical manipulation and quantum-information processing through effective usage of spin and orbital angular momenta.