.complex

Since the invention of the laser in 1960 complex, spatially structured light represents a field of interest within the optics community.  Depending on the laser resonator’s design, various transverse eigenmodes namely Hermite- and Laguerre-Gaussian beams with spatially varying amplitude and phase can be observed, as they embody solutions of the paraxial wave equation. However, tailoring these light fields within laser resonators is of course limited. Nowadays, the phanomena of complex, tailored light is still a topic of great importance, especially as it offers a continuously developing, wide range of applications in e.g. optical communication technology, quantum optics, material machining, super resolution imaging, laser lithography, or optical micromanipulation.

Beside the modulation and application of so called scalar light fields, showing spatial variation in amplitude and phase, polarization structured light, named vectorial Poincaré beams, attracts growing attention within the last years. We realize and investigate novel sophisticated light fields in order to extend known and implement new applications. Furthermore, customized light enables us to examine fundamental physical issues, e.g. in the field of singular optics.