• Special Issue
  • Complex Optical Fields
  • 13 Article (s)
Editorial for special issue on complex optical fields
Qiwen Zhan, and Andrew Forbes
Recently there is an increasing interest in tailored optical fields with complex amplitude, phase and polarization spatial distributions, as well as specifically designed temporal waveforms. Scalar optical vortices carrying orbital angular momentum and vectorial vortices such as radially and azimuthally polarized beams are among the most intensively studied examples. Comprehensive summaries of earlier developments can be found in several recent articles and edited books, e.g., by Zhan (Adv. Opt. Photon.1, 1, 20091943-8206), Padgett (Adv. Opt. Photon.3, 161, 20111943-8206 ), Forbes (Adv. Opt. Photon.8, 200, 20161943-8206), Zhan (Vectorial Optical Fields, World Scientific Publishing, 2013), and Forbes (Laser Beam Propagation, CRC Press, 2014), while applications of these complex optical fields in promising areas continue to emerge. To capture the latest developments in this important emerging field of optics, it is our pleasure to introduce the Chinese Optics Letters Special Issue on the Complex Optical Fields with contributions from scientists around the world who are active in this field.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Mar. 10, 2017
  • Vol. 15, Issue 3, 030001 (2017)
Linear and angular momenta in tightly focused vortex segmented beams of light (Invited Paper)
Martin Neugebauer, Andrea Aiello, and Peter Banzer
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Mar. 10, 2017
  • Vol. 15, Issue 3, 030003 (2017)
Refractive index measurement of dielectric samples using highly focused radially polarized light (Invited Paper)
Guadalupe López-Morales, Victor-Manuel Rico-Botero, Rafael Espinosa-Luna, and Qiwen Zhan
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Mar. 10, 2017
  • Vol. 15, Issue 3, 030004 (2017)
Flexible generation of femtosecond cylindrical vector beams (Invited Paper)
Yuquan Zhang, Xiujie Dou, Yong Yang, Chen Xie, Jing Bu, Changjun Min, and Xiaocong Yuan
Femtosecond (fs) cylindrical vector beams (CVBs) have found use in many applications in recent years. However, the existing rigid generation methods seriously limit its development. Here, we propose a flexible method for generating fs-CVBs with arbitrary polarization order by employing half wave plates and vortex retarders. The polarization state, autocorrelation width, pulse width, and spectrum features of the input and generated CVB pulses are measured and compared. The results verify that the generated CVBs remain in the fs regime with no appreciable temporal distortion, and the energy conversion efficiency can reach as high as 96.5%, even for a third-order beam. As a flexible way to generate fs-CVBs, this method will have great significance for many applications.
Chinese Optics Letters
  • Publication Date: Mar. 10, 2017
  • Vol. 15, Issue 3, 030007 (2017)

The Chinese Optics Letters (COL) invites original manuscript submissions for a Special Issue on Complex Optical Fields to be published in March 2017. Recently there is an increasing interest in tailored optical fields with complex amplitude, phase, polarization spatial distributions and/or specifically designed temporal waveforms. Scalar optical vortices carrying orbital angular momentum and vectorial vortices such as radially, azimuthally polarized beams are among the most intensively studied examples. The added degrees of freedom arising from the amplitude, phase and polarization diversity within the beam cross-section and tailored waveforms enable scientists and engineers to break the limits imposed by conventional wisdom in many optical and photonic applications. Applications of these complex optical fields in promising areas and new commercial products continue to emerge. This special issue will include excellent review articles and original contributions covering the rapid advances and tremendous breadth of this emerging technical area.