Coupling enhancement of split ring resonators on graphene

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Metallic split ring resonator (SRR) structures are used in nanophotonics applications in order to localize and enhance incident electromagnetic field. Electrically controllable sheet carrier concentration of graphene provides a platform where the resonance of the SRRs fabricated on graphene can be tuned. The reflectivity spectra of SRR arrays shift by applying gate voltage, which modulates the sheet carrier concentration, and thereby the optical conductivity of monolayer graphene. We experimentally and numerically demonstrated that the tuning range can be increased by tailoring the effective mode area of the SRR and enhancing the interaction with graphene. The tuning capability is one of the important features of graphene based tunable sensors, optical switches, and modulator applications. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

One-way transmission through the subwavelength slit in nonsymmetric metallic gratings

Cataloged from PDF version of article.An approach for obtaining one-way transmission in the beaming regime is suggested that is based on the directional radiation of surface plasmons in nonsymmetric metallic gratings with a single slit. In contrast to the various nonsymmetric one-way diffraction gratings that have recently been proposed, the possibility of obtaining of narrow beams is demonstrated. Strong directional selectivity can appear a wide range of the observation angles, while the angle of incidence is retained. © 2010 Optical Society of Americ

Observation of Enhanced Beaming from Photonic Crystal Waveguides

We report on the experimental observation of the beaming effect in photonic crystals enhanced via surface modes. We experimentally map the spatial field distribution of energy emitted from a subwavelength photonic crystal waveguide into free-space, rendering with crisp clarity the diffractionless beaming of energy. Our experimental data agree well with our numerical studies of the beaming enhancement in photonic crystals with modulated surfaces. Without loss of generality, we study the beaming effect in a photonic crystal scaled to microwave frequencies and demonstrate the technological capacity to deliver long-range, wavelength-scaled beaming of energy.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Spoof-plasmon relevant one-way collimation and multiplexing at beaming from a slit in metallic grating

Diode and collimator/multiplexer functions are suggested to be combined in one device that is based on a thin metallic grating with a single subwavelength slit. A proper choice of the structural (a)symmetry of the grating can result in obtaining one-way collimation and multiplexing with a single on-axis or off-axis, or two off-axis narrow outgoing beams. It is possible due to freedom in utilizing different combinations of the excitation conditions of the spoof surface plasmons at the four grating parts - right and left front-side and right and left back-side ones. Such a combining provides one with an efficient tool to engineer one-way collimators and multiplexers with the desired characteristics. Strong asymmetry in transmission with respect to the incidence direction (forward vs backward case) can be obtained within a wide range of variation of the incident beam parameters, i.e., angle of incidence and frequency, while the outgoing radiation is concentrated within a narrow range of the observation angle variation. Most of the observed asymmetric transmission features can be qualitatively explained using the concept of the equivalent source placed inside the slit. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Comparison of Back and Top Gating Schemes with Tunable Graphene Fractal Metasurfaces

In this work, fractal metasurfaces that consist of periodic gold squares on graphene are used to increase light-graphene interaction. We show by simulations and experiments that higher level fractal structures result in higher spectral tunability of resonance wavelength. This is explained by higher field localization for higher level fractal structures. Furthermore, spectral tunability of fractal metasurfaces integrated with graphene is investigated comparing two different schemes for electrostatic gating. Experiment results show that a top-gated device yields more spectral tunability (8% of resonance wavelength) while requiring much smaller gate voltages compared to the back-gated device. © 2016 American Chemical Society

Rapid and sensitive colorimetric ELISA using silver nanoparticles, microwaves and split ring resonator structures

We report a new approach to colorimetric Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) that reduces the total assay time to < 2 min and the lower-detection-limit by 100-fold based on absorbance readout. The new approach combines the use of silver nanoparticles, microwaves and split ring resonators (SRR). The SRR structure is comprised of a square frame of copper thin film (30 μm thick, 1 mm wide, overall length of ~9.4 mm on each side) with a single split on one side, which was deposited onto a circuit board (2×2 cm 2). A single micro-cuvette (10 μl volume capacity) was placed in the split of the SRR structures. Theoretical simulations predict that electric fields are focused in and above the micro-cuvette without the accumulation of electrical charge that breaks down the copper film. Subsequently, the walls and the bottom of the micro-cuvette were coated with silver nanoparticles using a modified Tollen's reaction scheme. The silver nanoparticles served as a mediator for the creation of thermal gradient between the bioassay medium and the silver surface, where the bioassay is constructed. Upon exposure to low power microwave heating, the bioassay medium in the micro-cuvette was rapidly and uniformly heated by the focused electric fields. In addition, the creation of thermal gradient resulted in the rapid assembly of the proteins on the surface of silver nanoparticles without denaturing the proteins. The proof-of-principle of the new approach to ELISA was demonstrated for the detection of a model protein (biotinylated-bovine serum albumin, b-BSA). In this regard, the detection of b-BSA with bulk concentrations (1 μM to 1 pM) was carried out on commercially available 96-well high throughput screening (HTS) plates and silver nanoparticle-deposited SRR structures at room temperature and with microwave heating, respectively. While the room temperature bioassay (without microwave heating) took 70 min to complete, the identical bioassay took < 2 min to complete using the SRR structures (with microwave heating). A lower detection limit of 0.01 nM for b-BSA (100-fold lower than room temperature ELISA) was observed using the SRR structures. © 2010 S.A. Addae et al

Electrically switchable metadevices via graphene.

Metamaterials bring subwavelength resonating structures together to overcome the limitations of conventional materials. The realization of active metadevices has been an outstanding challenge that requires electrically reconfigurable components operating over a broad spectrum with a wide dynamic range. However, the existing capability of metamaterials is not sufficient to realize this goal. By integrating passive metamaterials with active graphene devices, we demonstrate a new class of electrically controlled active metadevices working in microwave frequencies. The fabricated active metadevices enable efficient control of both amplitude (>50 dB) and phase (>90°) of electromagnetic waves. In this hybrid system, graphene operates as a tunable Drude metal that controls the radiation of the passive metamaterials. Furthermore, by integrating individually addressable arrays of metadevices, we demonstrate a new class of spatially varying digital metasurfaces where the local dielectric constant can be reconfigured with applied bias voltages. In addition, we reconfigure resonance frequency of split-ring resonators without changing its amplitude by damping one of the two coupled metasurfaces via graphene. Our approach is general enough to implement various metamaterial systems that could yield new applications ranging from electrically switchable cloaking devices to adaptive camouflage systems

New SMARCA2 mutation in a patient with Nicolaides–Baraitser syndrome and myoclonic astatic epilepsy

We report a de novo SMARCA2 missense mutation discovered on exome sequencing in a patient with myoclonic astatic epilepsy, leading to reassessment and identification of Nicolaides–Baraitser syndrome. This de novo SMARCA2 missense mutation c.3721C>G, p.Gln1241Glu is the only reported mutation on exon 26 outside the ATPase domain of SMARCA2 to be associated with Nicolaides–Baraitser syndrome and adds to chromatin remodeling as a pathway for epileptogenesis. © 2016 The Authors. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Shotgun metagenomic analysis of microbial communities from the Loxahatchee nature preserve in the Florida Everglades.

BackgroundCurrently, much is unknown about the taxonomic diversity and the mechanisms of methane metabolism in the Florida Everglades ecosystem. The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a section of the Florida Everglades that is almost entirely unstudied in regard to taxonomic profiling. This short report analyzes the metagenome of soil samples from this Refuge to investigate the predominant taxa, as well as the abundance of genes involved in environmentally significant metabolic pathways related to methane production (nitrogen fixation and dissimilatory sulfite reduction).MethodsShotgun metagenomic sequencing using the Illumina platform was performed on 17 soil samples from four different sites within the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and underwent quality control, assembly, and annotation. The soil from each sample was tested for water content and concentrations of organic carbon and nitrogen.ResultsThe three most common phyla of bacteria for every site were Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Proteobacteria; however, there was variation in relative phylum composition. The most common phylum of Archaea was Euryarchaeota for all sites. Alpha and beta diversity analyses indicated significant congruity in taxonomic diversity in most samples from Sites 1, 3, and 4 and negligible congruity between Site 2 and the other sites. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed the presence of biogeochemical biomarkers of particular interest (e.g., mrcA, nifH, and dsrB) within the samples. The normalized abundances of mcrA, nifH, and dsrB exhibited a positive correlation with nitrogen concentration and water content, and a negative correlation with organic carbon concentration.ConclusionThis Everglades soil metagenomic study allowed examination of wetlands biological processes and showed expected correlations between measured organic constituents and prokaryotic gene frequency. Additionally, the taxonomic profile generated gives a basis for the diversity of prokaryotic microbial life throughout the Everglades