Issue 6 (2019)

Semiconductor infrared plasmonics

Semiconductor infrared plasmonics

The coupling between light and collective oscillations of free carriers at metallic surfaces and nanostructures is at the origin of one of the main fields of nanophotonics: plasmonics. The potential applications offered by plasmonics range from biosensing to …

Coherent Raman scattering with plasmonic antennas

Coherent Raman scattering with plasmonic antennas

Coherent Raman scattering (CRS) techniques are recognized for their ability to induce and detect vibrational coherences in molecular samples. The generation of coherent light fields in CRS produces much stronger signals than what is common in incoherent Raman …

Optical trapping in vivo: theory, practice, and applications

Optical trapping in vivo: theory, practice, and applications

Since the time of their introduction, optical tweezers (OTs) have grown to be a powerful tool in the hands of biologists. OTs use highly focused laser light to guide, manipulate, or sort target objects, typically in the nanoscale to microscale range. OTs have …

Maximized vertical photoluminescence from optical material with losses employing resonant excitation and extraction of photonic crystal modes

Maximized vertical photoluminescence from optical material with losses employing resonant excitation and extraction of photonic crystal modes

Optical losses of a host material together with the total internal reflection phenomenon can significantly reduce photoluminescence external quantum efficiency of embedded light-emitters. This is not only the case for light-emitting color centers in thin …

Quadratic phase modulation and diffraction-limited microfocusing generated by pairs of subwavelength dielectric scatterers

Quadratic phase modulation and diffraction-limited microfocusing generated by pairs of subwavelength dielectric scatterers

Diffractive approaches are needed when refractive microlenses reach their focusing limit at the micron-scale in visible light. Previously, we have reported on micron-sized optical lenses based on the diffraction of metallic nanowires. Here, we extend our …

Causal homogenization of metamaterials

Causal homogenization of metamaterials

We propose a homogenization scheme for metamaterials that utilizes causality to determine their effective parameters. By requiring the Kramers-Kronig causality condition in the homogenization of metamaterials, we show that the effective parameters can be …

Enhanced THz EIT resonance based on the coupled electric field dropping effect within the undulated meta-surface

Enhanced THz EIT resonance based on the coupled electric field dropping effect within the undulated meta-surface

In this paper, the enhanced terahertz (THz) electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonance is achieved based on the coupled electric field dropping effect within the undulated meta-surface. It is found that the height difference between the inner …

High-efficiency Bessel beam array generation by Huygens metasurfaces

High-efficiency Bessel beam array generation by Huygens metasurfaces

Bessel beams have attracted considerable interest because of their unique non-diffractive, self-healing characteristics. Different approaches have been proposed to generate Bessel beams, such as using axicons, diffractive optical elements, composite …

Fast fabrication of silver helical metamaterial with single-exposure femtosecond laser photoreduction

Fast fabrication of silver helical metamaterial with single-exposure femtosecond laser photoreduction

Metallic helical metamaterials have become the prominent candidates for circular polarizers and other optical-chiral devices as they exhibit strong circular dichroism at a broad operation bandwidth. However, the rapid fabrication of an intertwined double …

Semiconductor-enhanced Raman scattering sensors via quasi-three-dimensional Au/Si/Au structures

Semiconductor-enhanced Raman scattering sensors via quasi-three-dimensional Au/Si/Au structures

We present a feasible way to strongly enhance Raman signals via introducing an ultra-thin dielectric film in the dual-layer plasmonic hotspots structure, which forms a quasi-three-dimensional structure. The Raman intensity was obtained with an enhancement …

Photonic realization of erasure-based nonlocal measurements

Photonic realization of erasure-based nonlocal measurements

Relativity theory severely restricts the ability to perform nonlocal measurements in quantum mechanics. Studying such nonlocal schemes may thus reveal insights regarding the relations between these two fundamental theories. Therefore, for the last several …

Optical pulling forces on Rayleigh particles using ambient optical nonlinearity

Optical pulling forces on Rayleigh particles using ambient optical nonlinearity

Optical pulling forces exerted on small particles can be achieved by tailoring the properties of the electromagnetic field, the particles themselves, or the surrounding environment. However, the nonlinear optical effect of the surrounding environment has been …