Research Projects

To date, two-dimensional(2d) and three-dimensional(3d) vectorial paraxial light fields with 2d polarization have been explored extensively in theory and experiments. However, these beams have a limitation for practical usage in high-resolution imaging, lithography, and image processing, due to their incapacity to process large information density because of detrimental diffraction along the transverse plane. Tightly focused structured light beams are essential to break the above limitation. The focusing radial polarization components, longitudinal and transverse polarization contributions, are formed in the non-paraxial regime. The longitudinal electric light component, parallel to the optical axis, becomes more dominant with the increasing focusing angle. Consequently, this component forms a smaller optical spot at the focal point. The smaller focal spot is the essential requirement for superresolution optical microscopy. The spot size of the vector beam can be manipulated by controlling EIT-based nonlinearity or EIT-based chirality of the medium. The medium's optical properties, such as absorption, dispersion, diffraction, spatial inhomogeneity and chirality, can be efficiently controlled by applying the coherent electric or magnetic fields with a suitable magnitude and shape. The controlled light shaping paves a new way for high contrast imaging, laser micromachining, creation of optical lattices, optical tweezers, storage and retrieval of light, and creation of light bullets.

Quantum Optics, Quantum Coherence, Laser Optics, Atomic and Molecular Physics