We experimentally realize three-dimensional non-paraxial accelerating beams associated with different coordinate systems. They are obtained by Fourier transforming a phase-modulated wave front in an aberration-compensated system. The phase pattern is encoded to include the phase and amplitude modulation for the accelerating beams with additional correction phase for the aberration compensation. These beams propagate along a circular trajectory, but they exhibit rather complex intensity patterns corresponding to the shape-invariant solutions in parabolic, prolate spheroidal and oblate spheroidal coordinate systems.

We demonstrate efficient generation of coherent super-octave pulses via a single-stage spectral broadening of a Yb:KGW laser in a single, pressurized, Ne-filled, hollow-core fiber capillary. Emerging pulses spectrally spanning over more than 1 PHz (250–1600 nm) at a dynamic range of ∼60 dB, and an excellent beam quality open the door to combining Yb:KGW lasers with modern light-field synthesis techniques. Compression of a fraction of the generated supercontinuum to intense (8 fs, ∼2.4 cycle, ∼650 µJ) pulses allows convenient use of these novel laser sources in strong-field physics and attosecond science.

We demonstrate optical sharply bending beams under the paraxial condition. The curved path followed by these beams arises from the intersection of geometrical rays nearly parallel to the optical axis rather than the envelope of a bundle of tangential rays, whereby conventional bending beams were routinely designed. Compared with Airy beams, such sharply bending beams can turn at a much larger angle, and, surprisingly, exhibit an expedited self-healing process especially when they encounter an obstacle farther away. Furthermore, a simple method to preset the beam path is put forward, leading to free-space active routing of laser peak intensity even to 90° along circular and elliptical trajectories of macroscale. Our approach can be exploited to design sharply curved wave-packets in other physical systems.

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