Author: Ahmed H. DorrahPublisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Recent advances in laser beam shaping using tools such as Spatial Light Modulators (SLMs) or phase plates has made it possible to engineer various properties of light in a sophisticated manner, thus opening many new possibilities in Structured Light. In particular, much attention has been dedicated to engineering the properties of non-diffracting light beams, mainly due to their long depth-of-field and self-healing behavior. Notably, controlling the intensity profile of non-diffracting beams has led to many advances in optical tweezers, micro-manipulation, and atom guiding. In addition to intensity, beams with helical phase fronts have been constructed such that they carry Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM); a conserved degree-of-freedom that can be transferred to micro-particles or deployed as means of optical communications. Furthermore, the wavelength and state of polarization are two additional properties of light that play a decisive role in applications such as materials processing, microscopy, and optical communications. While much effort has been dedicated to structuring the aforementioned properties of non-diffracting light beams - namely its intensity, OAM, polarization, and wavelength - at a single 2D plane, controlling such properties at multiple planes along the beam's axis has scantly been investigated. In this dissertation, we establish a systematic method to design, create, and analyze a new generation of non-diffracting Structured Light beams in which various properties of light can be controlled, separately or simultaneously, along the beam's longitudinal axis of propagation. This includes longitudinal control over the intensity profile, OAM, polarization, wavelength, and even the propagation trajectory of the beam (almost at-will); thus creating a new optical toolkit with many degrees-of-freedom to meet the rising demand for advanced Structured Light. In addition, we report on unusual physical phenomena; for instance, one in which the OAM of light can be reversed/changed locally without violating any conservation laws. Finally, we show that Longitudinally Structured Light can be exploited to measure the index of refraction of fluids; providing high resolution measurements over a wide dynamic range, and thus solving an old trade-off that has hitherto been untackled in refractive index sensing.