A liquid crystal device-based apparatus for observing optical vortex and manipulating micro-particles

In this paper, we disclose a self-developed liquid crystal device-based optical apparatus for undergraduate teaching experiments. Three relevant experiments have been presented through the experiment-based class: the undergraduates learned about light-matter interaction, the photo-patterning of a liquid crystal q-plate and the generation of an optical vortex, and the manipulation of micro-particles via angular momentum. Most undergraduates held positive remarks on the optical apparatus and were satisfied with the assigned tasks in the experiment. Indeed, our proposed optical apparatus is not only applicable to the explorative research work but also suitable for the undergraduates' teaching laboratories.