Orbital angular momentum beam excitation through direct phase-matched coupling is experimentally demonstrated using an all-fiber weakly fused mode selective coupler consisting of a single-mode fiber and a ring-core fiber. Experimental results showing the excited OAM mode purity of up to 75% measured through the standard ring technique not only demonstrate the proof of concept but also provide a baseline for further improvement.

Stokes polarimetry measurements are carried out to calculate the spatial and angular Goos-Hänchen and Imbert-Fedorov shifts of a Gaussian beam reflected at glass-air interface, by measuring the phase difference between the TE and TM components and the amplitude of reflection. Variation of the beam shifts as a function of input beam polarization is also measured. The results obtained here are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions and the results obtained using a position sensitive detector. The polarimetric measurement method is accurate, independent of the intensity distribution of the beam, and opens up a new method to study the beam shift problem.

Self-healing, a counterintuitive but significant effect in structured light, that granting a light field the ability to reconstruct itself after a partial obstruction placed in its propagation path. Here, we will give a comprehensive review of the history and development of self-healing effects, especially highlighting its importance in vector vortex beams carrying spin and orbital angular momenta. Moreover, an unified zoology of self-healing, structured light is proposed to unveil a deeper understanding of its physical mechanism and provide a bird's eye view on diverse forms of self-healing effects of different kinds of complex structured light. Finally, we outline the open challenges we are facing, potential opportunities and future trends for both fundamental physics and applications.

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We report the first demonstration of Raman amplification in a fiber of a single Bessel-like higher order mode using a multimode pump source. We amplify the LP-mode with a 559-µm effective mode area at a signal wavelength of 1115 nm in a pure-silica-core step-index fiber. A maximum of 18 dB average power gain is achieved in a 9-m long gain fiber, with output pulse energy of 115 µJ. The Raman pump source comprises a pulsed 1060 nm ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier with V-value ~30, which is matched to the Raman gain fiber. The pump depletion as averaged over the signal pulses reaches 36.7%. The conversion of power from the multimode pump into the signal mode demonstrates the potential for efficient brightness enhancement with low amplification-induced signal mode purity degradation.

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We demonstrate an all-optical thermo-plasmonic effect to switch/modulate the surface plasmon resonance signal intensity excited at the metal-air interface. This optically addressed thermo-plasmonic measurement scheme is suitable to amplify very small changes in the complex dielectric constant (ε(m)(T)) of thin gold (Au) film, induced by the Ar(+) laser. The predominant contributions due to small but highly repeatable transient photo-thermal effects in the complex metal dielectric constant is confirmed to be the reason behind the highly reproducible all-optical thermo-plasmonic device performance presented here.

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