Poisson spots, a light phenomenon first discovered two centuries ago, have been employed by researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), to produce optical skyrmions, a stable light pattern, with major implications for cutting-edge data storage research.

Published in the journal Optica, the NTU researchers describe producing small, swirling optical skyrmions using only a laser focused on a small disk, thereby eliminating the need for complex, expensive equipment typically required to achieve the same effect.

The NTU team’s breakthrough allows optical scientists to generate, control, and study this optical light phenomenon much more easily than before.

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