Optical tornadoes in photonic crystals

Abstract

Based on an optical analogy of spintronics, the generation of optical tornadoes is theoretically investigated in two-dimensional photonic crystals without space-inversion symmetry. We address its close relation to the Berry curvature in crystal momentum space, which represents the non-trivial geometric property of a Bloch state. It is shown that the Berry curvature is easily controlled by tuning two types of dielectric rods in a honeycomb photonic crystal. Then, Bloch states with large Berry curvatures appear as optical tornadoes in real space. The radiation force of such a configuration is analyzed, and its possible application is also discussed.