Abstract

Since their inception in optics, self-accelerating optical beams have attracted a great deal of attention from both theoretical and application perspectives. In fact, their studies have fuelled the research interest in beam synthesis and engineering as one of the interdisciplinary areas beyond optics and photonics. Based on their intriguing properties such as diffraction-free propagation, self-acceleration and self-healing, many potential applications have been proposed and demonstrated in diverse branches of physics, including for example optical trapping and particle manipulation, curved plasma generation, bending surface plasmons and electrons, single molecule imaging and light-sheet microscopy.

© 2015 Optical Society of America