Spin Hall Effect of Light via Momentum-Space Topological Vortices around Bound States in the Continuum

Optical bound states in the continuum (BICs) are exotic topological defects in photonic crystal slabs, carrying polarization topological vortices in momentum space. The topological vortex configurations not only topologically protect the infinite radiation lifetime of BICs, but also intrinsically contain many unexploited degrees of freedom for light manipulation originating from BICs. Here, we theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate the spin Hall effect of light in photonic crystal slabs via momentum-space topological vortices around BICs. The strong spin-orbit interactions of light are induced by using the topological vortices around BICs, introducing both wave-vector-dependent Pancharatnam-Berry phase gradients and cross-polarized resonant phase gradients to the spinning light beam, which lead to spin-dependent in-plane-oblique lateral light beam shifts. Our work reveals intriguing spin-related topological effects around BICs, opening an avenue toward applications of BICs in integrated spin-optical devices and information processing.