Optical vortex

An optical vortex (also known as a photonic quantum vortex, screw dislocation or phase singularity) is a zero of an optical field; a point of zero intensity. The term is also used to describe a beam of light that has such a zero in it. The study of these phenomena is known as singular optics.

The concept of "optical vortices" was first described by Coullet et al. in 1989, based on solutions of the Maxwell-Bloch equations. According to one review, studies in 1989-1999 mainly focused on fundamentals; studies in 1999-2009 developed many applications; and studies in 2009-2019 made a number of technological breakthroughs.

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