Spin and orbital angular momentum of light and particle beams and their inter-conversion

The angular momentum of light can be split into spin and orbital components. Only recently several optical processes involving a conversion of angular momentum from one form to another were conceived and experimentally demonstrated. We will briefly review these processes, and then survey some applications we have demonstrated of these spin-orbit effects in classical and quantum optics. Finally, we will show that analogous spin-orbit effects can be conceived for electron beams, leading to a theoretical proposal for a high-efficiency electron spin filter. If it will prove to be practical, this device could lead to a spin-polarized electron microscopy.