arXiv subjects

Zhangyu Zhou

Publications and source records attributed to Zhangyu Zhou.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Ultrafast wide-field 3D topography with extended depth of field

Ultrafast optical imaging has enabled direct observation of femtosecond-nanosecond dynamics, yet three-dimensional (3D) dynamic measurements at high numerical aperture (NA) remain hindered by the intrinsically shallow depth of field (DoF) of conventional microscopes. Here, we propose an ultrafast, wide-field pump-probe interferometric microscope on a telecentric platform that significantly extends the effective DoF to ~18 micrometer at a high NA of 0.9 while maintaining high spatial resolution (down to 235 nm) and temporal resolution (~170 fs). The system enables single-frame 3D topography reconstruction without axial scanning or multi-view acquisition. We demonstrate these capabilities by capturing axial material flow during laser-induced microsphere melting that remain unobservable with conventional narrow-DoF systems, and by tracking the azimuthal rotation of ablation lobes during axial propagation of temporal focused spatiotemporal optical vortex (TF-STOV) pulses, directly revealing the spatiotemporal evolution of STOV-matter interactions

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Temporal Focusing Enables Distortion-Resistant high-intensity Spatiotemporal Optical Vortices

Spatiotemporal optical vortices (STOVs) carry transverse orbital angular momentum and offer new degrees of freedom for light-matter interactions. Yet conventional focusing of STOVs introduces spatiotemporal astigmatism: the beam diffracts while the pulse duration stays constant, causing the vortex to deform away from focus. Here we overcome this limitation by introducing spectral phase modulation into a temporal focusing configuration, where angular dispersion forces the pulse to compress only at the geometric focus so that the spatial and temporal dimensions focus and defocus together. Our approach generates stable STOVs with self-similar, distortion-free evolution over an extended focal region. Besides, the orbital angular momentum vector can be continuously steered from purely longitudinal to strongly tilted orientations by adjusting the spatial dispersion, objective focal length, or input beam size. More importantly, our method offers full compatibility with high NA focusing geometry, allowing high-intensity and high-resolution applications. We validate these properties through femtosecond laser ablation under high-NA conditions and interferometric spatiotemporal field reconstruction under low-NA conditions.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Controllable perfect spatiotemporal optical vortices

Spatiotemporal optical vortices (STOVs), as a kind of structured light pulses carrying transverse orbital angular momentum (OAM), have recently attracted significant research interest due to their unique photonic properties. However, general STOV pulses typically exhibit an annular intensity profile in the spatiotemporal plane, with a radius that scales with the topological charge, limiting their potential in many applications. Here, to address this limitation, we introduce the concept of perfect spatiotemporal optical vortices (PSTOVs). Unlike STOV pulses, the intensity distribution of PSTOV wavepackets is nearly independent of the topological charge. We show that such wavepackets can be generated by applying the spatiotemporal Fourier transform to a Bessel-Gaussian mode in the spatiotemporal frequency domain. More importantly, the mode distribution of PSTOV wavepackets can be freely controlled by introducing azimuthal-dependent phase modulation, enabling conversion from a standard annular profile to arbitrary polygonal shapes. Finally, experimental results confirm the successful generation of these wavepackets. Our findings will expand the study of STOV pulses and explore their potential applications in optical communications, information processing, topological photonics, and ultrafast control of light-matter interactions.

physics.optics↗