Review of Polarized Light-Spin/Dipole Interactions: Fundamental Physics and Application in Circularly Polarized Detecting

Circularly polarized light (CPL) has attracted great attention due to its unique electromagnetic vector, which possesses potential practical applications in optical imaging, biometrics, and other interdisciplinary areas. At present, many materials with spontaneous CPL emitting have been extensively studied and reviewed for the generation of CPL. For the detection of CPL, mainly concentrate on the technical problems, that is, how to combine circularly polarized optical active materials with device structures to meet detection needs. Essentially, the resolution of CPL depends on the interaction between CPL and matter, Herein, the interactive modes including polarized light-spin and light-dipole (or charge) interactions in devices are summarized. Also, direct and indirect interactions of polarized light-spin are presented. Meanwhile, the progress of light-spin/dipole interaction dependence of CPL detectors is analyzed based on artificial structures of photoconductors, photodiodes, and photo field effect transistors. It is hoped that the review can broaden the bridge between the fundamental photon-spin-dipole interaction and CPL detectors with high performance, and then deepen the understanding of CPL detection and promote the development of CPL detectors.