Issue 20 (2024)

Large-scale photonic inverse design: computational challenges and breakthroughs

Large-scale photonic inverse design: computational challenges and breakthroughs

Recent advancements in inverse design approaches, exemplified by their large-scale optimization of all geometrical degrees of freedom, have provided a significant paradigm shift in photonic design. However, these innovative strategies still require full-wave …

Ultra-sensitive, graphene metasurface sensor integrated with the nonradiative anapole mode for detecting and differentiating two preservatives

Ultra-sensitive, graphene metasurface sensor integrated with the nonradiative anapole mode for detecting and differentiating two preservatives

Graphene-based metamaterial sensors are of significant research value for detecting food preservatives at low concentrations due to their extremely high sensitivity levels. In this work, we proposed and experimentally demonstrated an anapole resonance-based …

Highly sensitive volumetric single-molecule imaging

Highly sensitive volumetric single-molecule imaging

Volumetric subcellular imaging has long been essential for studying structures and dynamics in cells and tissues. However, due to limited imaging speed and depth of field, it has been challenging to perform live-cell imaging and single-particle tracking. Here …

Dynamic control of the directional scattering of single Mie particle by laser induced metal insulator transitions

Dynamic control of the directional scattering of single Mie particle by laser induced metal insulator transitions

Interference between the electric and magnetic dipole-induced in Mie nanostructures has been widely demonstrated to tailor the scattering field, which was commonly used in optical nano-antennas, filters, and routers. The dynamic control of scattering fields …

Free electrons spin-dependent Kapitza–Dirac effect in two-dimensional triangular optical lattice

Free electrons spin-dependent Kapitza–Dirac effect in two-dimensional triangular optical lattice

The free electron spin dynamics in Kapitza–Dirac (KD) effect had been studied theoretically in one-dimensional standing wave of EUV to X-ray laser with extremely high intensity, which is far beyond experimental realization. Here, we propose to achieve the …

Simultaneous thermal camouflage and radiative cooling for ultrahigh-temperature objects using inversely designed hierarchical metamaterial

Simultaneous thermal camouflage and radiative cooling for ultrahigh-temperature objects using inversely designed hierarchical metamaterial

Sophisticated infrared detection technology, operating through atmospheric transmission windows (usually between 3 and 5um and 8–13um), can detect an object by capturing its emitted thermal radiation, posing a threat to the survival of targeted objects. As …

Photonic Dirac waveguide in inhomogeneous spoof surface plasmonic metasurfaces

Photonic Dirac waveguide in inhomogeneous spoof surface plasmonic metasurfaces

The metamaterial with artificial synthetic gauge field has been proved as an excellent platform to manipulate the transport of the electromagnetic wave. Here we propose an inhomogeneous spoof surface plasmonic metasurface to construct an in-plane …

Demultiplexing-free ultra-compact WDM-compatible multimode optical switch assisted by mode exchanger

Demultiplexing-free ultra-compact WDM-compatible multimode optical switch assisted by mode exchanger

Silicon-based optical switches are integral to on-chip optical interconnects, and mode-division multiplexing (MDM) technology has enabled modes to function as carriers in routing, further boosting optical switches’ link capacity. However, traditional …

Flat lens–based subwavelength focusing and scanning enabled by Fourier translation

Flat lens–based subwavelength focusing and scanning enabled by Fourier translation

We demonstrate a technique for flexibly controlling subwavelength focusing and scanning, by using the Fourier translation property of a topology-preserved flat lens. The Fourier transform property of the flat lens enables converting an initial phase shift of …

Experimental observation of spin Hall effect of light using compact weak measurements

Experimental observation of spin Hall effect of light using compact weak measurements

The spin Hall effect of light, a phenomenon characterized by the transverse and spin dependent splitting of light at an optical interface, is highly promising for collecting precise quantitative data from interfaces and stands as an appealing option for …

Opto-intelligence spectrometer using diffractive neural networks

Opto-intelligence spectrometer using diffractive neural networks

Spectral reconstruction, critical for understanding sample composition, is extensively applied in fields like remote sensing, geology, and medical imaging. However, existing spectral reconstruction methods require bulky equipment or complex electronic …

Inverse design of color routers in CMOS image sensors: toward minimizing interpixel crosstalk

Inverse design of color routers in CMOS image sensors: toward minimizing interpixel crosstalk

Over the past decade, significant advancements in high-resolution imaging technology have been driven by the miniaturization of pixels within image sensors. However, this reduction in pixel size to submicrometer dimensions has led to decreased efficiency in …

Dual-band complex-amplitude metasurface empowered high security cryptography with ultra-massive encodable patterns

Dual-band complex-amplitude metasurface empowered high security cryptography with ultra-massive encodable patterns

The significance of a cryptograph method lies in its ability to provide high fidelity, high security, and large capacity. The emergence of metasurface-empowered cryptography offers a promising alternative due to its unparalleled wavefront modulation …