Surpassing the diffraction limit in long-range laser engineering via cross-scale vectorial optical field manipulation: perspectives and outlooks
Yinghui Guo, Mingbo Pu, Yang Li, Mingfeng Xu, Xiangang Luo
Abstract
We present a vectorial optical field (VOF) framework that surpasses the diffraction limit in both long-range imaging and energy delivery. By jointly engineering spatial and temporal dimensions, reflective Fourier ptychography is extended to 3.2 km with 0.37× the classical diffraction limit, while a single-photon LiDAR tomography system achieves centimeter-scale, sub-diffraction imaging at 3.3 km using superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. These advances demonstrate super-resolution, turbulence-resilient imaging over kilometer-range distances. Beyond super-resolution optical, high power VOFs are able to counteract thermal blooming during atmospheric laser propagation, enhancing on-target power density by a factor larger than 2. Together, these results may outline a cross-scale paradigm that links high-power vector-field structuring, single-photon detection, and adaptive control—offering a pathway toward next-generation optical systems that integrate imaging, sensing, communication and directed energy within a common physical framework.