Plasmon-enhanced sub-wavelength laser ablation: plasmonic nanojets

In response to the incident light's electric field, the electron density oscillates in the plasmonic hotspots producing an electric current. Associated Ohmic losses raise the temperature of the material within the plasmonic hotspot above the melting point. A nanojet and nanosphere ejection can then be observed precisely from the plasmonic hotspots.     

Ultracompact beam splitters based on plasmonic nanoslits

An ultracompact plasmonic beam splitter is theoretically and numerically investigated. The splitter consists of a V-shaped nanoslit in metal films. Two groups of nanoscale metallic grooves inside the slit (A) and at the small slit opening (B) are investigated. We show that there are two energy channels guiding light out by the splitter: the optical and the plasmonic channels. Groove A is used to couple incident light into the plasmonic channel. Groove B functions as a plasmonic scatter. We demonstrate that the energy transfer through plasmonic path is dominant in the beam splitter. We find that more than four times the energy is transferred by the plasmonic channel using structures A and B. We show that the plasmonic waves scattered by B can be converted into light waves. These light waves redistribute the transmitted energy through interference with the field transmitted from the nanoslit. Therefore, different beam splitting effects are achieved by simply changing the interference conditions between the scattered waves and the transmitted waves. The impact of the width and height of groove B are also investigated. It is found that the plasmonic scattering of B is changed into light scattering with increase of the width and the height of B. These devices have potential applications in optical sampling, signal processing, and integrated optical circuits.     

Integrated all-optical infrared switchable plasmonic quantum cascade laser

We report a type of infrared switchable plasmonic quantum cascade laser, in which far field light in the midwave infrared (MWIR, 6.1 μm) is modulated by a near field interaction of light in the telecommunications wavelength (1.55 μm). To achieve this all-optical switch, we used cross-polarized bowtie antennas and a centrally located germanium nanoslab. The bowtie antenna squeezes the short wavelength light into the gap region, where the germanium is placed. The perturbation of refractive index of the germanium due to the free carrier absorption produced by short wavelength light changes the optical response of the antenna and the entire laser intensity at 6.1 μm significantly. This device shows a viable method to modulate the far field of a laser through a near field interaction.     

Feasibility of nonlinear Raman lidar based on stimulated Raman gain spectroscopy without a tunable laser

A novel technique of lidar for atmospheric gas detection by use of stimulated Raman gain spectroscopy without any tunable laser is proposed. Detection sensitivity and detectable range are estimated on the basis of the lidar equation for CO2, CH4, and H2 in the atmosphere. The feasibility study clearly shows that the technique has a potential for application to lidar and that, in addition, the construction of the system is simpler than those of traditional differential absorption lidars.     

Band-selective optical polarizer based on gold-nanowire plasmonic diffraction gratings

We report a plasmonic diffraction grating device as a new kind of optical polarizer. This simple device consists of periodically distributed gold nanowires on top of a transparent glass substrate and is based on the strong polarization dependence of the particle plasmon resonance of the gold nanowires. A high-efficiency secondary diffraction in the same device enhances the polarization extinction ratio significantly. Linearly polarized spectrum in the red with a bandwidth of 53 nm is selectively picked up from the nonpolarized white light, where a polarization extinction ratio higher than 100 at about 650 nm has been achieved. The idea of plasmonic diffraction grating is important for exploiting new detection and sensor techniques.     

All-fiber dynamic gain equalizer based on a twisted long-period grating written by high-frequency CO2 laser pulses

A novel dynamic gain equalizer for flattening Er-doped fiber amplifiers based on a twisted long-period fiber grating (LPFG) induced by high-frequency CO(2) laser pulses is reported for the first time to our knowledge. Experimental results show that its transverse-load sensitivity is up to 0.34 dB/(g.mm(-1)), while the twist ratio of the twisted LPFG is approximately 20 rad/m, which is 7 times higher than that of a torsion-free LPFG. In addition, it is found that the strong orientation dependence of the transverse-load sensitivity of the torsion-free LPFG reported previously has been weakened considerably. Therefore such a dynamic gain equalizer based on the unique transverse-load characteristics of the twisted LPFG provides a much larger adjustable range and makes packaging of the gain equalizer much easier. A demonstration has been carried out to flatten an Er-doped fiber amplifier to +/-0.5 dB over a 32 nm bandwidth.     

Tunable filter and optical buffer based on dual plasmonic ring resonators

We demonstrate the realization of on chip plasmon-induced transparency using dual ring resonators coupling to metal–dielectric–metal bus waveguide. The theoretical results agree well with the finite-difference time-domain simulative ones. Moreover, by adjusting the radius, width, as well as the coupling distance can efficiently operate the wavelengths and bandwidths of our filter. In theory, we propose a feasible method to improve the trade-off between transmission and quality factor. Finally, the ultra-compact structure possesses slow light effect and manifests a low group velocity, which provides a guideline to control the light and has potential application in optical filter and optical buffer.     

Research on dual-color laser emission in two-dimensional scattering gain media

The dual-color laser phenomena in two-dimensional (2D) scattering gain media was investigated by simultaneously solving Maxwell's equations and rate equations of electronic population. The results indicate that dual-color laser emission from a dye solution with scattering nanoparticles is affected by the number of density scatterers in the dye solution and the dye concentration. Increasing the concentration of the dye increases the spectral intensity of the dimers, and increasing the pump energy produces major radiative and non-radiative energy transfers from monomers to dimers. If the pump energy is at a very low level, regardless of the dye concentration, the spectra are broadened. Simultaneous laser emissions at desired wavelengths in scattering gain media can be achieved by using a dye mixture.     

Random laser action of ZnO@mesoporous silicas

ZnO@mesoporous silica nanocomposite was prepared by the impregnation method, and very efficient laser action was highlighted. As revealed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), nanometric ZnO particles are confined inside the mesochannels of CMI-1 mesoporous silicas. Upon excitation at 3.6?eV of a femtosecond pulsed laser and at low pumping intensity, the ZnO@mesoporous silica showed a broad photoluminescence (PL) band corresponding to the excitonic recombination of ZnO. When the pumping intensity is increased up to a threshold (2.5?mJ?cm(-2)), the excitonic emission turns to stimulated emission through a mechanism which will be discussed. The same threshold value was obtained with another excitation source and nanocomposites with different ZnO loadings inside the CMI-1 mesoporous silica. These results allow a better understanding of the random laser effect in ZnO@mesoporous silica and, consequently, a model has been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Based on these new observations, many new applications can be considered since short-wavelength devices are required by industry to design new information storage supports.     

Directional emission of surface-enhanced Raman scattering based on a planar-film plasmonic antenna

A planar-film plasmonic antenna for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with good emission directivity (divergence angle < 3°) was realized on a Kretschmann prism configuration with Raman-active analytes as emitters. The simulated results of finite-difference time-domain method show the emission efficiency, the directivity and the gain of the planar-film antenna were expected to be 50%, 300 and 22 dB, respectively. Angle-resolved spectroscopy was used to characterize its properties in SERS. The experimental results show that the SERS signal of analytes was remarkably enhanced when a laser excited this planar-film plasmonic antenna at the resonance angle. Meanwhile, the radiation of SERS was concentrated in a small region in space. The planar-film antenna with high gain coefficient can be a promising light harvesting and emitting device. The good emission directivity allows high collection efficiency. This advantage opens up interesting prospects in the applications for plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy and single-phonon detections.     

Influence of laser annealing on the structural properties of sputtered AlN:Ag plasmonic nanocomposites

We propose a process of deposition of plasmonic nanocomposites comprising magnetron sputtering of AlN:Ag multilayers combined with intermediate steps of flash annealing. When the AlN matrix structure was amorphous, thermal annealing induced the break-up of silver layers and the formation of homogeneously distributed spherical nanoparticles. On the other hand, in the case of a nanocrystalline AlN matrix, the larger nanoparticles were observed to form only at an interfacial and a surface zone. Further treatment by laser annealing was employed in order to photo-modulate the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) by promoting ripening of the nanoparticles. Using high resolution transmission electron microscopy, it was observed that laser annealing caused nanoparticle enlargement with a concurrent improvement of their separation, while retaining their average spherical shape. Optical reflectance measurements showed that better LSPR was obtained when the AlN matrix was amorphous due to the restrained nanoparticle ripening inside nanocrystalline AlN. Roughening at the film/substrate interface and film degradation after laser annealing at the employed radiation wavelength where reduced compared to similar samples grown by pulsed laser deposition. Based on finite difference time domain simulations and X-ray reflectivity measurements, this was attributed to the improved quality of the AlN matrix.     

Random speckle modulation technique for laser interferometry

In spite of its obvious advantages over conventional contact and immersion techniques, laser interferometry has not yet become a practical tool in ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation since its sensitivity is insufficient in most practical applications. Part of the problem is that the maximum signal-to-noise ratio often cited in scientific publications and manufacturers' specifications cannot be maintained on ordinary diffusely reflecting surfaces. Although these surfaces reflect a fair amount (5–50%) of the incident laser light, this energy is randomly distributed among a large number of bright speckles. Unless the detector happens to see one of these bright speckles, the interferometer's signal-to-noise ratio will be much lower than the optimum. This adverse effect is almost completely eliminated by the suggested random speckle modulation technique. The conventional interferometric technique was modified to assure random occurrence of a few very bright speckles and to move the whole speckle pattern around at an appropriate speed. Random but frequent bright flashes detected from the surface of the specimen resulted. The bright periods are 0.1 ms or longer, sufficient to trigger the ultrasonic pulser and detect the transmitted signals before the flash subsides. As much as 5–10 times improvement of the optical sensitivity was achieved by this novel approach and close to maximum signal-to-noise ratio was maintained everywhere on the surface of a diffuse object.     

Modeling of a plasmonic nanosensor based on an open box-like metal cavity

We propose a plasmonic nanosensor based on an open box-like metal nanocavity. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excited at the metal/dielectric interface oscillate in the cavity, and then, plasmonic resonance modes are formed. Since the cavity is open, a part of the resonance light of the SPPs is scattered to light. By monitoring the shift in the scattering spectrum, the refractive index change of the sensed material can be derived. Because of the high reflectivity of the metallic walls, the sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) are higher than those using single nanoparticle or nanoantenna. A sensitivity of 1046 nm/RIU (RIU denotes refractive index unit) and a FOM of 23.4 are derived for a 700 nm long and 350 nm high square cavity. Furthermore, the sensing area of the proposed sensor is smaller than 1 μm² and the performance of the nanosensor can be further tuned by varying the cavity dimensions. The proposed sensor is well suited for observing small changes in biological and chemical reactions.     

Effect of gain saturation on the current-power characteristic of semiconductor laser

It is shown that, when temperature effects are excluded, even a small bend of the current-power characteristic of a semiconductor laser caused by gain saturation indicates that the carrier concentration that is necessary to maintain lasing should be increased by several times (i.e., that the effective lasing threshold significantly increases).     

Experiments of high energy gain laser wakefield acceleration

The wakefield acceleration of electrons has a great potential for the future accelerator because of its high accelerating field gradient. We have obtained over 100 MeV acceleration gain by the wakefield generated by a 2 TW Ti: sapphire laser system. In the acceleration experiment, the 17 MeV electrons from a linac were used for the injection beam. The synchronization between the RF signal and the laser pulse was achieved within the time jitter of 3.7 ps. Due to the self-focusing and ionization, a long propagation length and high field gradient were realized. The self-focusing effect of the laser was confirmed by the laser spotsize measurement along the beam axis. The plasma density oscillation was measured by using the frequency domain interferometry. The acceleration gain expected from the plasma density measurement was consistent with the result of the acceleration experiments.     

Random laser action from ceramic-doped polymer films

We report random lasing emission from polymer films doped with ceramic particles in a gain medium. The Al₂O₃ particles and Rh6G laser dye-doped PVP films were fabricated by a spin-coating technique and they were exposed to a pulsed laser at 526 nm, by which we collected intensive feedback random laser (IFRL) emission when the pump energy reached thresholds. The threshold depended on particle size, film thickness and particle contents in solution. A model with randomly distributed scatterers was established to confirm that the scattering properties could strongly effect the thresholds and lasing spatial distributions.     

On laser wakefield acceleration in plasma channels

The structure of the laser wakefield is analyzed for wide and narrow (in comparison with plasma wavelength) plasma channels with parabolic in radial direction plasma density distributions. The results of analytical theory are confirmed by the self-consistent nonlinear numerical modeling of laser pulse propagation and wakefield generation. In narrow plasma channels the accelerating longitudinal component of the wakefield decreases rapidly with the distance from a laser pulse. This makes possible a short single electron bunch acceleration even if the injected electron beam is much longer than a plasma wavelength.     

表面等离子激元超构表面的研究进展

传统光学系统(如透镜、波片和全息片等)在光程远大于波长尺度的范围内实现对光波前的调控,其中振幅、相位和偏振的改变均依赖于光束反射、折射和衍射过程所累积的动态光程差。近年来涌现出的平面超薄光学系统因突破了传统设计的局限性而受到各个领域研究人员的青睐。本文着重介绍基于表面等离子激元的超表面在自由空间光场和局域光场波前调控方面的最新进展,阐述相关机理和具体应用,并结合国内外研究现状,分析现有技术存在的瓶颈且对该领域未来的发展趋势进行探讨和展望。

     

Aberration-free ultrathin flat lenses and axicons at telecom wavelengths based on plasmonic metasurfaces

The concept of optical phase discontinuities is applied to the design and demonstration of aberration-free planar lenses and axicons, comprising a phased array of ultrathin subwavelength-spaced optical antennas. The lenses and axicons consist of V-shaped nanoantennas that introduce a radial distribution of phase discontinuities, thereby generating respectively spherical wavefronts and nondiffracting Bessel beams at telecom wavelengths. Simulations are also presented to show that our aberration-free designs are applicable to high-numerical aperture lenses such as flat microscope objectives.