Characterization of dielectric spheres by spiral imaging

Abstract

This paper was published in Optics Letters and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OL.37.000869. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.We study the spiral spectra scattered off transparent dielectric spheres when probed by different Laguerre–Gaussian light beams, carrying nested topological wavefront dislocations. We show that such scattering data may be employed to determine geometrical properties of the spheres, such as their position. The technique is a generalization of standard Mie scattering, and it can be extended to study and to characterize nanospheres