Spatiotemporal Hologram

TL;DR

This paper introduces a versatile holographic method for arbitrary manipulation of both amplitude and phase in spatiotemporal light fields, enabling the creation of complex, customizable wavepackets for advanced photonics research.

Contribution

A novel spatiotemporal holographic technique that allows full control over amplitude and phase, expanding the possibilities for complex light field generation beyond phase-only devices.

Findings

Generation of higher-order spatiotemporal Bessel wavepackets

Creation of spatiotemporal crystal-like structures

Production of flat-top spatiotemporal wavepackets

Abstract

Spatiotemporal structured light has opened up new avenues for optics and photonics. Current spatiotemporal manipulation of light mostly relies on phase-only devices such as liquid crystal spatial light modulator to generate spatiotemporal optical fields with unique photonic properties. However, simultaneous manipulation of both amplitude and phase of the complex field for the spatiotemporal light is still lacking, limiting the diversity and richness of achievable photonic properties. In this work, a simple and versatile spatiotemporal holographic method that can arbitrarily sculpture the spatiotemporal light is presented. The capabilities of this simple yet powerful method are demonstrated through the generation of fundamental and higher-order spatiotemporal Bessel wavepacket, spatiotemporal crystal-like and quasi-crystal-like structures, and spatiotemporal flat-top wavepackets. Fully customizable spatiotemporal wavepackets will find broader application in investigating the dynamics of spatiotemporal fields and interactions between ultrafast spatiotemporal pulses and matters, unveiling previously hidden light-matter interactions and unlocking breakthroughs in photonics and beyond.