WITS Structured Light Laboratory
We welcome new partners with an interest to collaborate, and we have opportunities for Master’s and Doctoral studies, as well as vacation work for good students.
Who we are and what we do
Welcome to the Structured Light Laboratory’s home page. We are a small and dynamic group based within the School of Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Colloquially called “Wits” (pronounced as “Vits”), the university has produced four Nobel Laureates, many of the world’s top mining CEOs, home to the Cradle of Humankind, and is ranked #1 in South Africa.
- A holographic toolkit for creating and detecting spatial modes of light
- Classical entanglement with vector vortex beams
- A new definition for the quality of vector beams
- Real-time quantum error correction using classical light
- Quantum teleportation with orbital angular momentum
- Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) with high-dimensional entangled states
- Entangled Bessel beams and self-healing of quantum states
- High-dimensional quantum state engineering
- A digital laser for on-demand modes from lasers
- A vortex laser for scalar and vector orbital angular momentum modes.
The work is carried out at both the classical and quantum levels and includes topics that range from purely theoretical to purely experimental. Our research builds competency in mathematical algorithms applied in optics, both theoretically and computationally, non-linear optics, diffractive optical elements, micro optics, adaptive optics, refractive beam shapers, digital holograms, spatial light modulators and wavefront sensing.