Single Ultrafast Pulses Shaped to Spatiotemporal Images

Abstract

Spatiotemporal structured light reveals numerous novel physical phenomena and promises new avenues in optics and photonics. It is highly demanded to achieve customized high-fidelity spatiotemporal field manipulation with a single ultrafast pulse. Here, we propose a checkerboard modulation scheme, with the simple setup of a cylindrical-lens-grating-lens configuration, successfully shaping a single ultrafast pulse into customized spatiotemporal images. We experimentally demonstrate spatiotemporal images, such as panda, QR code, and Zhejiang University eagle logo, in the spatial and temporal dimensions. By manipulating both the amplitude and phase of the pulse, we achieve spatiotemporal vortex arrays with different orbital angular momenta at various spatiotemporal positions, with spatiotemporal-mode division multiplexing potential for optical communications. The realization of customized spatiotemporal control of ultrafast pulses paves a new way both for fundamental research on light–matter interactions and in broader applications of spatiotemporal structured light.