Vortex coronagraphy from self-engineered liquid crystal spin-orbit masks
  We report on a soft route towards optical vortex coronagraphy based on self-engineered electrically tunable vortex masks based on liquid crystal topological defects. These results suggest that a nature-assisted technological approach to the fabrication of complex phase masks could be useful in optical imaging whenever optical phase singularities are at play. 
Artur Aleksanyan and Etienne Brasselet
physics.optics