Experimental observation of the spin Hall effect of light on a nano-metal film via weak measurements

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the experimental observation of the spin Hall effect of light on nano-metal films using weak measurements, revealing how film thickness influences spin-orbit coupling and transverse displacement.

Contribution

It introduces a propagation model linking spin-orbit coupling with metal film thickness and experimentally shows large negative transverse shifts due to Fresnel coefficient effects.

Findings

Spin Hall effect of light observed on nano-metal films.

Transverse displacement modulated by film thickness.

Large negative transverse shift linked to Fresnel coefficients.

Abstract

We theorize the spin Hall effect of light (SHEL) on a nano-metal film and demonstrate it experimentally via weak measurements. A general propagation model to describe the relationship between the spin-orbit coupling and the thickness of the metal film is established. It is revealed that the spin-orbit coupling in the SHEL can be effectively modulated by adjusting the thickness of the metal film, and the transverse displacement is sensitive to the thickness of metal film in certain range for horizontal polarization light. Importantly, a large negative transverse shift can be observed as a consequence of the combined contribution of the ratio and the phase difference of Fresnel coefficients.