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Photonics
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Innovations in Structured Optical Field: From Fundamentals to Applications
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Innovations in Structured Optical Field: From Fundamentals to Applications

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2026 | Viewed by 3679

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jia-Qi Lü

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hebei Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Technology and Equipment, Tianjin, China
Interests: vector optical beam; structured light; bessel beam; Poincaré sphere
Dr. Zhi-Cheng Ren

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
Interests: angular momentum; vortex; gaussian distribution

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few decades, the structured optical field—shaped by the spatial modulation of amplitude, phase, and polarization—has been a driving force in the advancement of modern optics. The properties of structured optical fields in propagation, focusing and interactions with matters enable a wide range of applications, including metrology, optical tweezers, optical communication and microscopes. In recent years, the development of high-dimensional light field manipulation has led to novel spatiotemporal and topological properties of structured optical fields, resulting in new theories and applications across optics and its interdisciplinary fields. This Special Issue highlights the latest theoretical, experimental and applied studies on structured optical fields to provide useful theoretical and technical references for interested readers. In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and reviews that are related to (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • High-dimensional light field manipulation;
  • Tight focusing of structured optical field;
  • Optical spin–orbital angular momentum interaction;
  • Optical micro-manipulation;
  • Topological photonics;
  • Nonlinear propagation of structured optical fields;
  • Rotational Doppler effect;
  • Spatiotemporally coupled optical fields;
  • Metrology based on structured optical field;
  • Orbital angular momentum multiplexing;
  • Metasurface.

Dr. Jia-Qi Lü
Dr. Zhi-Cheng Ren
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • structured light
  • light field manipulation
  • vector optical field/beam
  • vortex optical beam
  • orbital angular momentum
  • rotational Doppler effect
  • holography
  • spatiotemporal optical vortices
  • spatial multiplexing

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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17 pages, 21494 KB  
Article
Tailoring the Axial Intensity of Bessel Beams for Ionizing Radiation and TGV Applications Using Different Optimized Nonlinear Phases
by Adel S. A. Elsharkawi, Amany A. Arafa and Mohamed A. Swillam
Photonics 2026, 13(6), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13060538 - 30 May 2026
Viewed by 273
Abstract
This work presents a refined theoretical and numerical framework for shaping the axial intensity of finite-energy Bessel–Gaussian beams through programmable nonlinear phase modulation. Starting from the scalar Fresnel diffraction integral, we reformulate the propagation of a Gaussian-apodized axicon beam using a dimensionally consistent [...] Read more.
This work presents a refined theoretical and numerical framework for shaping the axial intensity of finite-energy Bessel–Gaussian beams through programmable nonlinear phase modulation. Starting from the scalar Fresnel diffraction integral, we reformulate the propagation of a Gaussian-apodized axicon beam using a dimensionally consistent stationary-phase method. This analysis directly relates the radial phase gradient to the saddle-point trajectory, phase curvature, and on-axis intensity distribution. A Gaussian phase modulation (GPM) serves as a reference design to achieve a flattop axial profile while preserving the characteristic transverse Bessel ring structure. This work is validated against beam propagation simulations and previously reported spatial light modulator (SLM) experiments, confirming its accuracy within the paraxial regime. A parametric study then clarifies the scaling of wavelength, beam waist, axicon angle, and refractive index for extended focusing. Beyond standard GPM, several alternative nonlinear phase functions are systematically compared. High-performing profiles must replicate not only the amplitude scale but, more importantly, the radial phase-gradient structure of the Gaussian reference, which governs energy redistribution from annular regions to the axis. The results identify smooth, localized nonlinear functions as promising candidates for stable flattop Bessel beam generation. The proposed framework offers a flexible optical design for applications such as through-glass via (TGV) micromachining and light-sheet illumination, while prospective high-intensity laser plasma uses remain beyond the present linear model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Structured Optical Field: From Fundamentals to Applications)
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13 pages, 8190 KB  
Article
Divergence of Long-Range Bessel-Gaussian Beams with Truncated Coaxial Rings
by Nikolay Dimitrov, Maya Zhekova and Alexander Dreischuh
Photonics 2026, 13(5), 483; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13050483 - 13 May 2026
Viewed by 339
Abstract
Bessel beams, one of the four known types of beams that are exact solutions of the Helmholtz equation, are remarkable with their non-diffracting nature. In reality, generated with real (Gaussian) laser beams with finite transverse profiles, Bessel-Gaussian beams (BGBs) are quasi-non-diffracting and remarkably [...] Read more.
Bessel beams, one of the four known types of beams that are exact solutions of the Helmholtz equation, are remarkable with their non-diffracting nature. In reality, generated with real (Gaussian) laser beams with finite transverse profiles, Bessel-Gaussian beams (BGBs) are quasi-non-diffracting and remarkably stable against spatial perturbations. Quasi-non-diffracting means that the central peaks of the BGBs typically have divergences of the order of microradians. Here, we present experimental evidence that the truncation of the concentric rings surrounding the central peak of the long-range BGBs has a pronounced and controllable effect on the divergence of their peaks. The method is well suited for microradian divergences and has a minimal effect when the divergence of the BGB approaches one milliradian. The truncation of the rings of the BGBs could be applied, for example, in free-space communications, in locating a receiver station with a more divergent beam, after which the spreading of the central peak in space could be reduced to ensure a more secure data transfer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Structured Optical Field: From Fundamentals to Applications)
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10 pages, 2899 KB  
Article
A Deep Learning Framework for Multi-Plane Computer-Generated Holography
by Jiafeng Zeng, Yi Chen, Entong Kuang, Xinrui Li, Xiangsheng Xie and Qiang Wang
Photonics 2026, 13(3), 252; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13030252 - 4 Mar 2026
Viewed by 930
Abstract
Multi-plane computer-generated holography is a key technology for enabling volumetric and near-eye displays. However, its widespread adoption remains constrained by the high computational cost of phase optimization and the persistent issue of axial crosstalk between depth planes. In this work, we propose a [...] Read more.
Multi-plane computer-generated holography is a key technology for enabling volumetric and near-eye displays. However, its widespread adoption remains constrained by the high computational cost of phase optimization and the persistent issue of axial crosstalk between depth planes. In this work, we propose a physics-informed deep learning framework that directly generates holograms for 3D multi-plane displays. Our approach implements a learnable mapping from spatial distributions to depth-dependent reconstructions and incorporates a trainable Fourier transform layer, enabling end-to-end optimization entirely in the physical domain (i.e., from the hologram plane to the multi-plane reconstruction). As a result, hologram generation time is decreased significantly, while effectively suppressing crosstalk across axial planes. Experimental validation demonstrates that the obtained phase hologram successfully reconstructs sparse multi-plane structured patterns with low visible crosstalk. These results highlight the potential of deep learning to advance practical applications in dynamic 3D display and holographic optical tweezer technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Structured Optical Field: From Fundamentals to Applications)
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11 pages, 1408 KB  
Article
The Quadruple Gaussian Airy Beam and Its Propagation Properties
by Xu-Zhen Gao, Guo-Dong Tan, Ren-De Ma, Shi-Tong Xu, Ming-Sheng Niu, Hong-Zhong Cao, Zhong-Xiao Man and Yue Pan
Photonics 2025, 12(9), 874; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12090874 - 29 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1406
Abstract
In recent years, structured light with novel propagation properties has attracted great attention. Among these structured beams, the Airy beam is one of the most representative and widely used beams. In this paper, we propose a kind of quadruple Gaussian Airy beam (QGAB) [...] Read more.
In recent years, structured light with novel propagation properties has attracted great attention. Among these structured beams, the Airy beam is one of the most representative and widely used beams. In this paper, we propose a kind of quadruple Gaussian Airy beam (QGAB) with fourfold symmetry. The QGAB is designed by the combination of Gaussian and Airy functions, and the polarization of the QGAB can be either singular or space-variant. We experimentally generate the QGABs and further study the propagation characteristics of the QGABs with different polarization states. The QGAB enriches the family of the structured beams, and the autofocusing and self-healing properties can be applied in regions such as optical communications, optical microscopes, and optical tweezers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Structured Optical Field: From Fundamentals to Applications)
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