High-Order Nonlinear Spin-Orbit Interaction on Plasmonic Metasurfaces

In linear optics, the angular momentum of light can be easily manipulated through the optical spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in structured media such as liquid crystals, metasurfaces, and forked gratings. Similarly, metasurfaces can be used to generate nonlinear optical beams with both custom-defined spin angular momentum (SAM) and orbital angular momentum (OAM) states. However, it has been limited to a low-order process in which only a Gaussian-shaped fundamental wave is used. In this work, the high-order nonlinear optical SOI effect on metasurfaces is demonstrated through the generation of multiple angular momentum states in nonlinear waves. This is achieved by exploiting the degrees of freedom provided by both the SAM and the OAM states of the fundamental wave (FW) and the topological charges of the plasmonic metasurfaces. The mechanism of both intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to the OAM of the nonlinear waves is revealed. High-order nonlinear SOI on metasurfaces offers new opportunities for realizing ultracompact nonlinear vortex beams.