SYSTEM FOR GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT OF ORBITAL ANGULAR MOMENTUM IN ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION BY MEANS OF SPECIAL LENS

摘要

The electromagnetic radiation carries both energy and angular momentum. The angular momentum can be divided into the components "Spin Angular Momentum" (i.e. the polarization) and "Orbital Angular Momentum" (OAM). The use of radiation with OAM can allow a more efficient utilization of the radio spectrum for example by means of the re-use of the same radiation frequency with different OAM modes. The present invention concerns the definition of devices, systems and methods for the generation of OAM modes in the radiation. For this purpose it has been proposed the use of one or more lenses which have a suitable distribution of refraction properties in order to generate OAM in the radiation which passes through them. The proposed lens can be composed of standard dielectric materials or of metamaterials with predetermined physical characteristics or also of tunable metamaterials for an appropriate modulation of the lens properties.