The rapid development of optical technologies, such as optical manipulation and trapping, data processing, optical sensing and metrology, enhanced imaging and microscopy, as well as classical and quantum communications necessitates fundamental studies of the new degrees of freedom for sculpting optical beams in space and time beyond conventionally used amplitude, phase, and polarization. Topological structured optical fields have emerged as one of the most promising candidates for such degrees of freedom. We will discuss our theoretical and experimental studies of “structured light and darkness” generation, detection, and linear and nonlinear light-matter interactions of optical links and knots in complex media such as optical metasurfaces and highly scattering media.

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Natalia M. Litchinitser, Danilo Gomes Pires, Jiannan Gao, Dmitrii Tsvetkov, Hooman Barati Sedeh, Nitish Chandra, and Ivan Kravchenko, "Topology of light and darkness in engineered optical media," Proc. SPIE PC12436, Complex Light and Optical Forces XVII, PC124360N (Presented at SPIE OPTO: February 02, 2023; Published: 17 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2658983.6321436298112.