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DOE OSTI · 3020222

Dynamic realization of emergent high-dimensional optical vortices

Kim, Dongha [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Korea Univ., Seoul, (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:0000000267837273)·Park, Geonhyeong [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)]·Choi, Yun-Seok [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000285830585)·Baucour, Arthur [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)]·Hwang, Jisung [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:0009000631921728)·Kim, Jaeyu [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)]·Park, Sanghyeok [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)]·Yun, Hee Seong [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)]·Shin, Jonghwa [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:000000030712464X)·Wang, Haiwen [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000174140776)·Fan, Shanhui [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000200819732)·Yoon, Dong Ki [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:0000000293838958)·Seo, Min-Kyo [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:0000000306183955)
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Abstract

The dimensionality of vortical structures has recently been extended beyond two dimensions, providing additional topological complexity and robustness for high-capacity information processing and turbulence control. The generation of high-dimensional vortical structures has mostly been demonstrated in classical systems through the complex interference of fluidic, acoustic, or electromagnetic waves. However, natural materials rarely support three- or higher-dimensional vortical structures and their physical interactions. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a high-dimensional gradient thickness optical cavity (GTOC) in which the optical coupling of planar metal-dielectric multilayers implements topological interactions across multiple dimensions. At non-trivial topological phases, high-dimensional GTOC induces high-dimensional vortical structures in generalized parameter space in three, four dimensions, and beyond. These emergent high-dimensional vortical structures are observed under electro-optic tomography as optical vortex dynamics in two-dimensional real-space, employing the optical thicknesses of dielectric layers as synthetic dimensions. Our findings hold significant promise for emulating high-dimensional physics and developing active topological photonic devices.

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY

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Kim, Dongha [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Korea Univ., Seoul, (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:0000000267837273), Park, Geonhyeong [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)], Choi, Yun-Seok [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000285830585), Baucour, Arthur [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)], Hwang, Jisung [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:0009000631921728), Kim, Jaeyu [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)], Park, Sanghyeok [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)], Yun, Hee Seong [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)], Shin, Jonghwa [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:000000030712464X), Wang, Haiwen [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000174140776), Fan, Shanhui [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000200819732), Yoon, Dong Ki [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:0000000293838958), Seo, Min-Kyo [Korea Advanced Inst. Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)] (ORCID:0000000306183955). 2025-11-05. Dynamic realization of emergent high-dimensional optical vortices. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65087-2

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗