About this Research Topic
Unique properties that have recently emerged in connection with optical beams that are structured in both phase and intensity, indeed the astonishingly wide range of prospective applications, from imaging, microscopy, metrology, communication, quantum information processing to light–matter interactions. Many of these new applications exploit the distinctive angular momentum, nodal architecture, and phase properties of structured light. However, the intended use of structured light has also illuminated a range of new interesting challenges, where novel interactions with turbulent and scattering environment have highlighted the need for new technology to overcome those distorting effects. Research on structured light and its propagation in scattering and turbulence media has cultivated a new, vigorous and distinctive interdisciplinary area, with strong interest and activity worldwide.
Typical examples of structured light include vortex beams, vector beams, partially coherent beams, and spatiotemporal beams. Laser communications has been a fantastic driver for exploring the fundamental interaction of structured optical fields with the channel environment. Structured light interacts with both turbulence and scattering media that uniquely distort these specific types of structured optical modes, results in irradiance fluctuations (scintillation), loss of spatial coherence, depolarization effect and the cross-coupling between spatial modes arising from phase fluctuations. Known as channel crosstalk, the distributed phase perturbations along the channel result in the cross-coupling of optical energy between free-space propagating optical modes. This corrupts the information transmitted within any mode-division or spatially division multiplexed communication system. Seeking appropriate strategies to enhance the robustness of structured light to channel environment during its propagation is an open challenge and common requirement for developing laser technology with structured light. It is the general objective of this special Issue to report recent Advances and Applications in structured light and its propagation in scattering and turbulence media.
The scope of this Research Topic is to provide an overview of recent advances in the developments and application of structured light in the scattering and turbulent media. The scope encompasses fundamental research, interaction mechanism, technology development, optical communication and remote sensing applications of structured light. Both original research articles and comprehensive reviews are welcome. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
• Structured light Generation, Multiplexing, and Demultiplexing
• Structured light interaction with turbulent and scattering media
• Scattering of irregular targets (e.g., raindrop ice crystals)
• Free-Space Optical Communications with Structured light
• Remote Sensing with structured light
• Optical Image with Structured light
Typical examples of structured light include vortex beams, vector beams, partially coherent beams, and spatiotemporal beams. Laser communications has been a fantastic driver for exploring the fundamental interaction of structured optical fields with the channel environment. Structured light interacts with both turbulence and scattering media that uniquely distort these specific types of structured optical modes, results in irradiance fluctuations (scintillation), loss of spatial coherence, depolarization effect and the cross-coupling between spatial modes arising from phase fluctuations. Known as channel crosstalk, the distributed phase perturbations along the channel result in the cross-coupling of optical energy between free-space propagating optical modes. This corrupts the information transmitted within any mode-division or spatially division multiplexed communication system. Seeking appropriate strategies to enhance the robustness of structured light to channel environment during its propagation is an open challenge and common requirement for developing laser technology with structured light. It is the general objective of this special Issue to report recent Advances and Applications in structured light and its propagation in scattering and turbulence media.
The scope of this Research Topic is to provide an overview of recent advances in the developments and application of structured light in the scattering and turbulent media. The scope encompasses fundamental research, interaction mechanism, technology development, optical communication and remote sensing applications of structured light. Both original research articles and comprehensive reviews are welcome. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
• Structured light Generation, Multiplexing, and Demultiplexing
• Structured light interaction with turbulent and scattering media
• Scattering of irregular targets (e.g., raindrop ice crystals)
• Free-Space Optical Communications with Structured light
• Remote Sensing with structured light
• Optical Image with Structured light
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
