Advances in Physics: X (Dec 2024)

Progress in high-power and high-intensity structured light

  • Justin Harrison,
  • Darryl Naidoo,
  • Andrew Forbes,
  • Angela Dudley

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/23746149.2024.2327453
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1

Abstract

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ABSTRACTStructured light refers to the ability to tailor light in its many degrees of freedom, from the traditional control in time and space to more exotic multi-dimensional control for new forms of light, including vectorial light, toroidal excitations, spatio-temporal vortices, skyrmions, and optical mobius strips to name but a few. While the toolbox for the creation and detection of structured light has advanced tremendously, this has mostly been in the low power regime. More recently, structured light at high-power and high-intensities has emerged, fuelling new science and applications. In this progress report, we showcase the seminal work that has advanced this field, and indicate the open challenges and opportunities that remain.

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