Near-infrared excited Raman optical activity

Measurements of near-infrared scattered circular polarization Raman optical activity (SCP-ROA) are presented using laser excitation at 780 nm for samples of S-(-)-alpha-pinene and L-alanyl-L-alanine. These are the first measurements of ROA outside the blue-to-green visible region between 488 and 532 nm. Comparison of Raman and ROA intensities measured with excitation at 532 and 780 nm demonstrate that the expected frequency to the fourth-power dependence for Raman scattering and the corresponding fifth-power dependence for ROA are observed. It can be concluded that, to within this frequency dependence, the same level of efficiency of Raman and ROA measurements using commercial instrumentation with 532 nm excitation is maintained with the change to near-infrared excitation at 780 nm.     

Annular pupils, radial polarization, and superresolution

An annular pupil, which can be used to produce a Bessel beam, when combined with radially polarized illumination promises improvements in microscope resolution, increased packing density for optical storage, and finer optical lithography. When combined with a circular detection pupil in confocal microscopy a point-spread function 112 nm wide results (lambda = 488 nm). Radially polarized annular illumination of a solid-immersion lens can yield a focal spot smaller than 100 nm for lambda = 488 nm. Use of radially polarized illumination with pupil masks is discussed.     

Sol–gel chirowaveguides investigated via MLine technique

Chirowaveguides, planar waveguides with a chiral core, are made of a chiral organo-modified silane sol–gel material. The losses, optical rotation (OR), absorption spectra and circular dicroism (CD) are measured and discussed. The optical activity for the organic chiral molecule 1,1′-binaphtyl-2,2′-dyil hydrogen phosphate is preserved in solid thin films. The specific OR of the film material is 11°/mm at λ = 488 nm. It is shown that the prism coupling, known as m-line technique, is not appropriated to put into evidence the polarization feature of the chirowaveguides.     

Optical information storage and charge traps in PZT thin films

Storage of optical data in thin film PZT (lead zirconate titanate) has been demonstrated at a wavelength of 833 nm. A method for the storage and detection of simple optical-data images in thin PZT films is described. Dots and bars were stored in a 0.5-mum-thick 0/50/50 PZT using 488, 543, 633, and 833 nm wavelengths, and detected by measuring photocurrents while scanning a low-power read beam across the film. The data presented suggest that traps and related photoinduced charge carrier generation play an important role in this optical storage mechanism.     

Two-color holography in reduced near-stoichiometric lithium niobate

We explored a number of factors affecting the properties relevant to holographic optical data storage by using a two-color recording scheme in reduced, near-stoichiometric lithium niobate. Two-color, or photon-gated, recording is achieved by use of 852-nm information-carrying beams and 488-nm gating light. Readout at 852 nm is nondestructive, with a gating ratio of ~10(4). Recording sensitivity, gating ratio, dynamic range, and dark decay were measured for crystals of differing stoichiometry, degree of reduction, wavelength of the gating light, temperature, and optical power density. The two-color sensitivity per incident photon is still somewhat less than that of the one-color process at 488 nm for ~1 W/cm(2) of gating light but is essentially the same in terms of absorbed photons. Two-color recording is an attractive way of achieving nondestructive readout in a read-write material, and it allows selective optical erasure.     

Plasmonic circular dichroism of Peptide-functionalized gold nanoparticles

Nature is remarkable at tailoring the chirality of different biomolecules to suit specific functions. Chiral molecules can impart optical activity to achiral materials in the form of the particle's electronic transition frequency. Herein, we used peptides of differing secondary structures (random coil and α-helix) to artificially create optically active chiral gold nanoparticles through peptide-nanoparticle interactions as observed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. This interaction produces a CD signal at the plasmon resonance frequency (～520 nm) of the chiral peptide-nanoparticle complex. Aggregation of the peptide-coated nanoparticles using metal ions results in a red-shifted plasmonic CD response. Our results suggest that chiroptical properties of nanomaterials can be engineered using peptides.     

Influence of the geometry of a gammadion stereo-structure chiral metamaterial on optical properties

In this paper, a gammadion stereo-structure (GSS) chiral metamaterial (CMM) is described and numerically analysed at optical frequencies. The influence of the geometry of the proposed CMM on the optical properties was studied systematically. The numerical simulations exhibit that the giant circular dichroism (CD) effect, optical activity and negative refraction can be obtained by properly selecting the geometric parameters, respectively. Given the pronounced optical effects and the negative refraction property of stereo-structure CMM, many applications in ultra-compact polarization components, integrated photonics, plasmonic-enhanced sensing of biochemical substances and CD spectroscopic analysis can be envisioned easily.     

Element-specific hysteresis loop measurements on Individual 35 nm islands with scanning transmission X-ray microscopy

Using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy combined with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, element-specific hysteresis loops with a 25 nm X-ray probe are obtained on 35 nm Fe/Gd multilayer nanoislands fabricated by extreme ultra-violet interference lithography. Local hysteresis loops measured for the individual islands and the antidot film between the islands display similar behavior resulting from the lateral confinement. Line scan measurements confirm ferrimagnetic coupling between Fe and Gd in the patterned region. The ability to measure magnetization reversal with X-rays at high spatial resolution will provide an important tool for future characterization of sub-50 nm nanostructures.     

Imprinting Chirality onto the Electronic States of Colloidal Perovskite Nanoplatelets

The direct synthesis of chiroptical organic–inorganic methylammonium lead bromide perovskite nanoplatelets that are passivated by R‐ or S‐phenylethylammonium ligands is reported. The circular dichroism spectra can be divided into two components: (1) a region associated with a charge transfer transition between the ligand and the nanoplatelet, 300–350 nm, and (2) a region corresponding to the excitonic absorption maximum of the perovskite, 400–450 nm. The temperature‐ and concentration‐dependent circular dichroism spectra indicate that the chiro‐optical response arises from chiral imprinting by the ligand on the electronic states of the quantum‐confined perovskite rather than chiral ligand‐induced stereoselective aggregation.     

Structure effect on the absorption and circular dichroism spectra of Sm<Subscript>14</Subscript>B<Subscript>6</Subscript>Ge<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>34</Subscript> crystals

The spectroscopic and chiroptical properties of rare-earth-rich borate germanate crystals of composition Sm₁₄B₆Ge₂O₃₄ have been studied for the first time. The absorption and circular dichroism spectra of the crystals have been measured. For some of the f-f transitions involved, we have calculated the dipole strength and optical rotatory power.     

Fano-Enhanced Circular Dichroism in Deformable Stereo Metasurfaces

2D metasurfaces have emerged as a paradigm-shifting platform for light management with considerable miniaturization and alleviated fabrication challenges than their 3D counterparts. However, the appearance of in-plane mirror symmetry and reduced dimensions impose fundamental restraints to advanced chiroptical responses and reconfiguration capabilities. Here, a new concept of Fano-enhanced circular dichroism by introducing a reconfigurable stereo metasurface, which possesses deformable out-of-plane twists that are readily achieved by a simple nano-kirigami fabrication method, is demonstrated. The stereo height and twisting geometries can be reproducibly controlled, providing a facile and automated fashion to tailor the distinct profiles of Fano resonances under circularly polarized incidence. As a result, a recorded high efficiency of circular dichroism generation per unit sample thickness is achieved with Fano resonances in opposite lineshapes. Leveraging this feature, large-range reconfiguration of circular dichroism at optical wavelengths is demonstrated through reversible compression of the stereo metasurfaces with a fiber tip. The studied stereo metasurface unfolds a new degree of freedom for advanced photonic applications in a quasi-flat optical platform, and the proposed concept of Fano-enhanced circular dichroism opens new venues to explore interesting fundamental phenomena of chiral optics.     

Color separation of high-density dielectric rectangular grating in the Fresnel diffraction region

A high-density dielectric rectangular grating is designed for color separation in a Fresnel diffraction field. The Fresnel field distribution is analyzed and the optimization conditions for color separation are given. The process of the modes propagating and energy exchanging with the diffraction orders are expressed by modal method. The color separation for different polarizations can be realized. The energy efficiency is 96.3% at the 633 nm wavelength and 86.9% at the 488 mm wavelength for both TE polarizations, while the energy efficiency is theoretically 96.3% at the 633 nm wavelength for TE polarization and 90.6% at the 488 nm wavelength for TM polarization. The field distributions are scanned by the near-field scanning optical microscopy, and the efficiency is 71.2% for the 633 nm wavelength and 67.3% for the 488 nm wavelength for both TE polarizations experimentally.     

Complementary Y-shaped chiral metamaterial with giant optical activity and circular dichroism simultaneously for terahertz waves

Abstract

A complementary Y-shaped chiral metamaterial (CYCMM) is proposed for the realization of giant optical activity and circular polarization with strong circular dichroism (CD) simultaneously for terahertz (THz) waves. It is demonstrated that the proposed CYCMM can achieve 90° linear polarization rotation around 2.13 THz and a giant CD effect at 2.38 THz through full-wave simulations. The mechanism of the giant CD effect and optical activity is illustrated by simulated surface current distribution. Due to strong optical activity and the CD effect, the proposed CYCMM is useful for the development of integrated terahertz spectroscopic and imaging devices.     

Photo-Acoustic Spectroscopy Reveals Extrinsic Optical Chirality in GaAs-Based Nanowires Partially Covered with Gold

We report on the extrinsic chirality behavior of GaAs-based NWs asymmetrically hybridized with Au. The samples are fabricated by a recently developed, lithography-free self-organized GaAs growth, with the addition of AlGaAs shell and GaAs supershell. The angled Au flux is then used to cover three-out-of-six sidewalls with a thin layer of Au. Oblique incidence and proper sample orientation can lead to circular dichroism. We characterize this chiral behavior at \( 532\,{\text{nm}} \) and \( 980\,{\text{nm}} \) by means of photo-acoustic spectroscopy, which directly measures the difference in absorption for the circularly polarized light of the opposite headedness. For the first time to our knowledge, circular dichroism is observed in both the amplitude and the phase of the photo-acoustic signal. We strongly believe that such samples can be used for chiral applications, spanning from circularly polarized light emission, to the enantioselectivity applications.     

Nonlinear and magneto-optical transmission studies on magnetic nanofluids of non-interacting metallic nickel nanoparticles

Oxide free stable metallic nanofluids have the potential for various applications such as in thermal management and inkjet printing apart from being a candidate system for fundamental studies. A stable suspension of nickel nanoparticles of ～ 5 nm size has been realized by a modified two-step synthesis route. Structural characterization by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy shows that the nanoparticles are metallic and are phase pure. The nanoparticles exhibited superparamagnetic properties. The magneto-optical transmission properties of the nickel nanofluid (Ni-F) were investigated by linear optical dichroism measurements. The magnetic field dependent light transmission studies exhibited a polarization dependent optical absorption, known as optical dichroism, indicating that the nanoparticles suspended in the fluid are non-interacting and superparamagnetic in nature. The nonlinear optical limiting properties of Ni-F under high input optical fluence were then analyzed by an open aperture z-scan technique. The Ni-F exhibits a saturable absorption at moderate laser intensities while effective two-photon absorption is evident at higher intensities. The Ni-F appears to be a unique material for various optical devices such as field modulated gratings and optical switches which can be controlled by an external magnetic field.     

Silver nanoclusters in BSA template: a selective sensor for hydrogen peroxide

Fluorescent silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) have been bio-labeled to bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein by wet chemistry. The conformational changes of protein were studied using circular dichroism spectroscopy. The spectroscopic and chemical properties of these BSA-Ag NCs are explored to study their chemical sensing behavior. These NCs exhibit an intense fluorescence peak at 650 nm. Fluorescence behavior of Ag NCs has been explored for sensitive and selective detection of hydrogen peroxide.     

Magnetooptic spectroscopy of EuS, EuSe, and EuTe

The absorption Coefficient and the interband Faraday rotation of EuS, EuSe, and EuTe thin films have been measured as a function of the photon energy (1-6 eV), the temperature (2.7-300 K), and the applied magnetic field (0.1-11.5 kOe). From the Faraday rotation (FR) we compute the circular magnetic dichroism and from both and the optical constantsnandkwe derive the imaginary part of the off-diagonal elements of the complex conductivity tensor Im σxy. Integral values of the latter depend on the spin polarization of electronic states and permit a distinction between pd and fd transitions.     

Precise optical activity measurement of quartz plate by using a true phase-sensitive technique

A method of considering the circular and linear birefringent properties of a material on the basis of circular and linear polarization eigenstates is presented theoretically and experimentally. A polarized common-path optical heterodyne interferometer with respect to both right-hand and left-hand circularly polarized light was set up. It was used in conjunction with a phase lock-in technique to measure the optical activity of quartz crystal in real time. The signal-to-noise ratio of the measured phase change caused by the lateral displacement of quartz cornus was 75, which corresponded to a measuring accuracy of 10(-7). This novel method, in which a true-phase-sensitive optical heterodyne interferometer is used, has higher detection sensitivity and higher immunity to environmental disturbances.     

Spectrograph based on a single diffractive element for real-time measurement of circular dichroism

In this study, a novel and simple diffractive spectrographic method for real-time measurements of circular dichroism (CD) is considered from a theoretical and experimental approach. A demonstrator prototype of the CD spectrograph has been developed and its performance has been compared with a commercial phase-modulation CD spectrometer. The main element of the device is a polarization holographic grating, recorded in a thin photosensitive organic film, by two interfering opposite circularly polarized beams. A peculiarity of this grating is that the amplitude of the +1 (-1) order of diffraction is proportional to the right (left) circular polarization component of the incoming beam. Here we demonstrate that the CD spectrum of a specimen can be easily evaluated from the intensities of the diffracted beams. A white light beam passing through the specimen is diffracted from the grating and the intensities of the +/-1 orders of diffraction are measured. Due to the spectral selectivity of the grating, the CD at each wavelength can be evaluated at the same time using two linear array detectors.     

New azobenzene polymers for light-controlled optical elements

Three new azobenzene polymers have been synthesized by polymerization of cyanazobenzene monomers with different numbers of methylene groups attached to the cyanazobenzene dye. The rearrangement of the anisotropic azobenzene moieties in them was initiated by illumination with linearly polarized light (488 nm), and the optical anisotropy due to this arrangement has been investigated. The photobirefringence can be erased by illumination with circularly polarized light and re-induced to the same value with linearly polarized light. We show that films from these polymers can be used as optically controlled reversible polarization elements.