Generation of ultrafast tunable super-oscillation light fields

Abstract

In this paper, we conceptually propose and numerically demonstrate the generation of ultrafast tunable super-oscillation (SO) light fields by tightly focusing a radially polarized Gaussian femtosecond pulse laser. It is shown that, as the fleeting time goes on within one-half cycle (0 fs < t < 200 fs), the light fields in the focal region can be converted from an Airy spot (>0.61λ/NA, where λ is the wavelength of incident beam and NA is the numerical aperture of objective lens), via a SO spot (<0.36λ/NA), to a super-resolved spot (<0.5λ/NA). We further uncover the rapid evolutions on the full width at half maximum, the normalized central intensity, and the side lobe of focused superoscillatory spots, thus supporting ultrafast adjustable SO light fields. In addition, the effect of primary spherical aberration on the focusing properties of SO spots is examined. The associated mechanism to yield such time-varying SO light fields is elucidated as well. The results presented here expand the flexibility of ultrafast light field manipulation and hold extensive applications in ultrafast and super-resolved imaging, high-density optical data storage, and high-efficiency particle trapping.