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Structured light concerns the control of light in its spatial degrees of freedom (amplitude, phase, and polarization), and has proven instrumental in many applications. The creation of structured light usually involves the conversion of a Gaussian mode to a desired structure in a single step, while the detection is often the reverse process, both fundamentally lossy or imperfect. Here we show how to ideally reshape structured light in a lossless manner in a simple two-step process using conformal mapping. We outline the core theoretical arguments, and experimentally demonstrate reshaping of arbitrary structured light patterns with correlations in excess of 90%. Further, we highlight when the technique is applicable and when not, and how best to implement it. This work will be a useful addition to the structured light toolkit, and particularly relevant to those wishing to use the spatial modes of light as a basis in classical and quantum communication.This contribution reports on the optical properties of biosynthesised Eu2O3 nanoparticles bioengineered for the first time by a green and cost effective method using aqueous fruit extracts of Hyphaene thebaica as an effective chelating and capping agent. The morphological, structural, and optical properties of the samples annealed at 500°C were confirmed by using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), UV-Vis spectrocopy, and photoluminescence spectrometer. find more The XRD results confirmed the characteristic body-centered cubic (bcc) structure of Eu2O3 nanoparticles with an average size of 20 nm. HR-TEM revealed square type morphology with an average size of ∼6nm. Electron dispersion energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy spectrum confirmed the elemental single phase nature of pure Eu2O3. Furthuremore, the Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy revealed the intrinsic characteristic peaks of Eu-O bond stretching vibrations. UV-Vis reflectance proved that Eu2O3 absorbs in a wide range of the solar spectrum from the VUV-UV region with a bandgap of 5.1 eV. The luminescence properties of such cubic structures were characterized by an intense red emission centered at 614 nm. It was observed that the biosynthesized Eu2O3 nanoparticles exhibit an efficient red-luminescence and hence a potential material as red phosphor.We study the effects of increasing modulation instability and disorder on the onset times of rogue waves in waveguide arrays as described by the discrete unstable nonlinear Schrödinger equation (UNLSE). We analytically determine regions of instability, where rogue waves are likely to occur in the UNLSE, and then use numerical techniques to study the time evolution of these systems. Only for small modulation instability is the effect of fluctuations prominent on the onset times; otherwise, we find that large modulation instability dominates the onset time behavior.The unparalleled accuracy of modern-day atomic clocks has stimulated the development of time and frequency comparison techniques, with optical frequency transfer over fiber networks emerging as the preferred method. It has been demonstrated that frequency transfer over optical fibers has an order-of-magnitude better stability and accuracy than traditional satellite-based techniques. Precise time has become an essential service for most critical infrastructure and applications. New progress in LTE and 5G will demand more access to precise time with accuracies of under 10 ns. Although this technology exists in Africa, continuous improvements are required. With the arrival of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in Africa, the National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) upgraded its time and frequency infrastructure in order to support the stringent time accuracy requirements of the MeerKAT and SKA telescopes. Over the past five years, the Centre for Broadband Communication at the Nelson Mandela University lity is presented. A maximum jitter of 417.88 ps was measured for the transmitted PPS along the aerial fiber. Lastly, a novel technique for distributing a stable microwave reference frequency, using an intensity modulated VCSEL, is presented. The novel frequency dissemination and synchronization system proposes the use of a VCSEL-based phase correction actuator together with the inherent chromatic dispersion properties of the fiber. Frequency instabilities of 4.18939×10-12 at 104s without active noise cancellation and 4.86×10-14 at 104s with active noise cancellation were successfully measured across the 26 km G.655 fiber link.Space division multiplexing (SDM) erbium-doped seven-core fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are increasingly attracting interest due to their performances in improving capacity transmission systems. To increase the gain and improve the characteristics of the SDM seven-core fiber amplifier, this paper proposes the use of the erbium/ytterbium (Er3+/Yb3+) co-doped seven-core fiber amplifier. A theoretical model of the SDM co-doped seven-core fiber amplifier is developed. The presented results show that the proposed model allows us to obtain a peak gain over 60 dB at a wavelength of 1543 nm, a large bandwidth of 64 nm with a gain greater than 20 dB and with a minimum noise which is lower than 6 dB.This contribution reports, for what we believe is the first time, on VO2-based thin-film coatings on flexible Al substrates exhibiting a tunable positive emittance-switching Δε=(ε H -ε L )>0. More precisely, a layered stack of a-SiH/SiO2/VO2 on flexible Al sheets presents minimum and maximum values of emissivity of about 0.18 and 0.57 at 40ºC and 83ºC, respectively, and hence allows an emittance-switching Δε of 0.39 and a relative variation Δε/εΛ of ∼217%. Such variations fit with the potential applications of such coatings as smart radiation devices in small satellites and spacecraft.Stokes polarimetry is a mature topic in optics, most commonly performed to extract the polarization structure of optical fields for a range of diverse applications. For historical reasons, most Stokes polarimetry approaches are based on static optical polarization components that must be manually adjusted, prohibiting automated, real-time analysis of fast changing fields. Here we provide a tutorial on performing Stokes polarimetry in an all-digital approach, exploiting a modern optical toolkit based on liquid-crystal-on-silicon spatial light modulators and digital micromirror devices. We explain in a tutorial fashion how to implement two digital approaches, based on these two devices, for extracting Stokes parameters in a fast, cheap, and dynamic manner. After outlining the core concepts, we demonstrate their applicability to the modern topic of structured light, and highlight some common experimental issues. In particular, we illustrate how digital Stokes polarimetry can be used to measure key optical parameters such as the state of polarization, degree of vectorness, and intra-modal phase of complex light fields.