Polarization-controlled Goos–Hänchen shift by weak value amplification in total internal reflection

Abstract

We report what we believe is the first experimental evidence of a polarization-controlled Goos–Hänchen (GH) shift for a fundamental Gaussian beam (633 nm) of arbitrary polarization in the vicinity of the critical angle of incidence at the glass–air interface employing a quantum weak measurement technique. Characteristics of the GH shift with different polarization angles and angles of incidence are demonstrated. The experimental findings are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. This study establishes the critical role of the polarization states of incident light to obtain maximum amplification of a spatial GH shift. We expect that our results may open a pathway toward highly tunable GH shifts that can boost new applications in the modern optical device industry.