Challenging the Limits of Photonics:structured light

光子学是一门产生、控制和探测光的科学。该领域处于几个学科的十字路口，包括物理、生物、材料、数学和化学。继20世纪40年代末S发明晶体管之后，电子技术的快速发展，在接下来的几十年里，光子学将影响我们生活的大部分领域，包括未来的互联网基础设施、先进制造、激进的医疗保健新方法、照明以及实现传感和成像的革命。然而，传统告诉我们，光的聚焦受到阿贝衍射极限的限制，由于瑞利和米氏散射，光很难穿透组织，并且准直的相干光发射需要激光。通过用对光传播基本原理的变革性理解来挑战这些既定的惯例，我们可以创造一种范式转变；虽然20世纪是电子的世纪，但我们坚信21世纪将是光子的世纪。为了实现这一愿景，我们需要探索相干整形光的基本概念--构建光的相位、幅度和偏振--以揭示惊人的进展。特别是，光的结构和形状将突破感知的限制，打开下一代的机会，特别是在新兴的医疗保健和生物光子学领域。四个项目将并行进行，通过结合它们的成果，我们的目标是克服目前光子学的限制，解决主要挑战，如超分辨率显微镜、纳米传感、单细胞蛋白质组学、无处不在的类激光光源、空间控制的光遗传学、治疗和深度成像

Photonics is the science of generating, controlling and detecting light. The field is at the crossroads of several disciplines including physics, biology, materials, mathematics and chemistry. Following the rapid evolution of electronics subsequent to the invention of the transistor in the late 1940's, the coming decades will see photonics impact most areas of our lives including future internet infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, radical new approaches to Healthcare, Lighting and enabling a revolution in sensing and imaging. However, convention teaches us that focussing of light is constrained by the Abbé diffraction limit, that light penetrates tissue poorly due to Rayleigh and Mie scattering and that collimated, coherent light emission requires a laser. By challenging such established conventions with a transformative understanding of the fundamentals of light propagation, we can create a paradigm shift; while the 20th century was the century of the electron, we firmly believe that the 21st will be the century of the photon. In order to realize this vision, we need to explore the fundamental concepts of coherently shaping light in phase, amplitude and polarization - structuring light - to unveil startling advances. In particular, the structuring and shaping of light will break through perceived limits and open up the next generation of opportunities, particularly in the burgeoning areas of healthcare and biophotonics.Four projects will run in parallel and by combining their outputs, we aim to overcome current limits in Photonics and address major Challenges such as super-resolution microscopy, nanoscopic sensing, single cell proteomics, ubiquitous laser-like sources, spatially controlled optogenetics, therapy and imaging at depth