Ideas

A TAG lens can create a Bessel beam. How does it work? The TAG is a cylindical cavity with a piezoelectric ring around it to generate an acoustic wave. Within the lens, there is a fluid, thus the presence of the wave changes its density and, in turn, its refractive index. This change causes the laser beam to create Bessel pattern. I really would like to try this out. I wonder how much this stuff costs...

Acoustic Vortex

I just recently came across this on July 7th 2012. I found a relatively complex article on acoustic vortices tranferring their orbital angular momentum to optical vortices. Currently, I am looking at the references to find something that may spark the beginning of a project.

Holography

I just got a strange idea to make a hologram of a mirror or even a lens, then use it in an actual experimental setup. I wonder what type of problems would ensue...

Optical Vortices through Optical Fibers

Marty Cohen has expressed his interest on this topic, and it also had me asking a few questions. What happens to a vortex's spin when it is transmitted through an optical fiber? Does the change depend on the orientation of the fiber itself? What happens when one uses a single-mode fiber? A multi-mode fiber? Fiber optics is already an important way of communication, but can optical vortices help to relay information better?

I really would like to do a project with both optical fibers and vortices. Incident light exerts a force on surfaces and is defined by radiation pressure. My interests were sparked with this article. After reading this, I then found another article on using optical fibers as sensor for pressure based on photoelasticity. I have no idea if this is even practical to measure such a thing, but I would like to try!