Programmable Topological Light via Coherent Beam Combination

Abstract Topologically structured optical fields exhibit rich physical properties and offer new opportunities for information encoding and light-matter interaction. In this work, we propose a general and scalable framework for generating and reconfiguring topological light using coherent beam combination (CBC). By treating the CBC system as an electronically addressable optical phased array, we demonstrate that the topology of the optical field becomes a programmable parameter. As a representative example, we focus on optical skyrmions and present an experimental demonstration of deterministic and dynamic switching between Bloch-type, Néel-type, and antiskyrmion textures using a 7-channel Yb-doped fiber master oscillator power amplifier CBC system. This approach establishes a scalable and programmable route toward high-power topological vector fields and reconfigurable structured light.