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Counting the twists in a helical light beam

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At a time when communication networks are scrambling for ways to transmit more data over limited bandwidth, a type of twisted light wave is gaining new attention. Called an optical vortex or vortex beam, this complex beam resembles a corkscrew, with waves that rotate as they travel.

Now, applied physicists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created a new device that enables a conventional optical detector (which would normally only measure the light’s intensity) to pick up on that rotation.

The device, described in the journal Nature Communications, has the potential to add capacity to future optical communication networks.