Wavefront-Reversal, Low-Threshold, and Enhanced Stimulated Brillouin Scattering for Arbitrary Structured Light

Structured light with multiple degrees of freedom has inspired many advanced applications, and its nonlinear control plays an important role in the interactions between light and matter. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) based on light-sound coupling can be used to realize wavefront-reversal nonlinear reflection of ordinary light; consequently, it is used to correct wavefront aberrations in high-power laser systems. However, high-fidelity wavefront reversal of structured light with orbital angular momentum and high-reflectivity single-end SBS of weak incident waves remain challenging. Here, the authors propose a cross-pump focused SBS scheme that enables wavefront reversal with high fidelity, low threshold, and high reflectivity for arbitrary structured light . The authors demonstrate the capability of this approach to perform conformal and enhanced SBS reflections with a fidelity of >95% and reflectivity of >100%. Compared with the conventional focused SBS configuration, the SBS threshold is reduced by more than ten times, and wavefront reversal of weakly structured light is realized. This proof-of-principle study provides a high-performance SBS platform with potential implications for high-power structured lasers, high signal-to-noise-ratio microscopy imaging, and the development of nonlinear optics with structured light.