A joint research team led by Professor Kenichi Oto of Chiba University and Professor Takashige Omatsu of Chiba University detected eddy currents generated by interband optical excitation when illuminating a GaAs/AlGaAs two-dimensional electron system with optical vortices, using edge states in the quantum Hall state. This finding indicates that the effects originating from optical vortices manifest in the optical excitation of common semiconductors, such as GaAs. These results also suggest the potential to control electron transport in edge states of quantum Hall electron systems using optical vortices, opening new avenues for research into novel quantum transport phenomena.
This research was published online in Optics Express on February 9, 2026, which was featured as an Editor’s Pick.

https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.581256