First Experimental Observation of Photonic Spin Hall Effect in Hyperbolic Metamaterials at Visible Wavelengths

The photonic spin Hall effect [1] or spin Hall effect of light [2] is the photonic analog of the spin Hall effect occurring with charge carriers in solid-state systems. Typically, this phenomenon takes place when a light beam refracts at an air-glass interface, or when it is projected onto an oblique plane, the latter effect being known as the geometric spin Hall effect of light [3].

In general, the photonic spin Hall effect leads to a polarization dependent transverse shift of a light peak intensity [3,4]. An example of the latter effect is the transverse Imbert-Federov beam shift [3], which happens for paraxial beams reflected or refracted at a sharp inhomogeneity of an isotropic optical interface.

Potential applications of the photonic spin Hall effect in spin-dependent beam splitters, optical diodes [1], and surface sensors are considered in various fields in photonics, such as nanophotonics, plasmonics, metamaterials, topological optics, and quantum optics [1,2].