In-chip microstructures and photonic devices fabricated by nonlinear laser lithography deep inside silicon

Silicon is an excellent material for microelectronics and integrated photonics1–3 with untapped potential for mid-IR optics4. Despite broad recognition of the importance of the third dimension5,6, current lithography methods do not allow fabrication of photonic devices and functional microelements directly inside silicon chips. Even relatively simple curved geometries cannot be realised with techniques like reactive ion etching. Embedded optical elements, like in glass7, electronic devices, and better electronic-photonic integration are lacking8. Here, we demonstrate laser-based fabrication of complex 3D structures deep inside silicon using 1 µm-sized dots and rod-like structures of adjustable length as basic building blocks. The laser-modified Si has a different optical index than unmodified parts, which enables numerous photonic devices. Optionally, these parts are chemically etched to produce desired 3D shapes. We exemplify a plethora of subsurface, i.e., “in-chip” microstructures for microfluidic cooling of chips, vias, MEMS, photovoltaic applications and photonic devices that match or surpass the corresponding state-of-the-art device performances

Roadmap for Optical Tweezers 2023

Optical tweezers are tools made of light that enable contactless pushing, trapping, and manipulation of objects ranging from atoms to space light sails. Since the pioneering work by Arthur Ashkin in the 1970s, optical tweezers have evolved into sophisticated instruments and have been employed in a broad range of applications in life sciences, physics, and engineering. These include accurate force and torque measurement at the femtonewton level, microrheology of complex fluids, single micro- and nanoparticle spectroscopy, single-cell analysis, and statistical-physics experiments. This roadmap provides insights into current investigations involving optical forces and optical tweezers from their theoretical foundations to designs and setups. It also offers perspectives for applications to a wide range of research fields, from biophysics to space exploration

Analytical investigation of thermal stress in enamel and dentin under CW and pulse Er:YAG solid-state laser

The aim of this work is to evaluate thermal stress of Er:YAG laser radiation on enamel and dentin of the dental. The transient state heat conduction equation for pulse wave laser regime with energy of 100 mJ, 300 mJ and steady state heat conduction equation for CW regime with powers of 1 W, 5 W was solved analytically. Then, the thermally induced stress was investigated following the calculation of the temperature distribution. Using the thermo-mechanical characteristics of the dentin and the enamel, all components of stress were obtained. The thermal stress of Er:YAG laser radiation on the enamel and the dentin calculated in this work may be useful for clinical applications

Intracavity feedback optical trapping

Several research groups have integrated feedback control with optical trapping to improve performance, e.g., for force or position control. Among the different proposed approaches, using the feedback when trapping inside a laser cavity stands out for several reasons, namely, trapping can occur at lower optical intensities, reducing photodamage, and with low numerical aperture lenses, simplifying setup design. This is possible because the trapped particle position alters the cavity losses, triggering an intrinsic feedback on the trapped particle. Here, we analyze the behaviour of intracavity optical trapping with a single beam and with counter-propagating beams. The single-beam configuration features a well-known nonlinear feedback effect, because the beam power changes as the square of the particle displacement from trapping position. Instead, the counter-propagating-beam configuration feedback effect acts on both beams and can not be described by the same model

Optical diffractometry by rough phase steps

Abstract Optical diffractometry (OD) using a phase step is an alternative for interferometry, further, has least sensitivity to environmental vibrations. Therefore, OD has found numerous interesting metrological and technological applications. OD utilizes a phase step to detect the influence of objects under measurement by the changes in the Fresnel diffraction pattern. Recently, we showed that such measurements do not require infinitively sharp phase steps, although fabrication of such sharp elements is also impossible. Here, we address the issue of smoothness of the phase step surfaces. So far, in all of the OD applications the surfaces of the incorporated phase steps are considered to be optically smooth and flat. However, practically, some amount of roughness and unflatness is unavoidable even in precise and careful fabrication process. We show that preserving the OD-diffraction-pattern characteristics of a phase step depends on the level of roughness in the surfaces of the phase step. We define number of detectable fringes and autocorrelation functions of the diffraction patterns as the measures for evaluating the similarity of the rough phase step diffractions to the ideal case. We derive the theoretical description and confirm the results with simulations and experiments

Disorder-mediated crowd control in an active matter system

International audienceLiving active matter systems such as bacterial colonies, schools of fish and human crowds, display a wealth of emerging collective and dynamic behaviours as a result of far-from-equilibrium interactions. The dynamics of these systems are better understood and controlled considering their interaction with the environment, which for realistic systems is often highly heterogeneous and disordered. Here, we demonstrate that the presence of spatial disorder can alter the long-term dynamics in a colloidal active matter system, making it switch between gathering and dispersal of individuals. At equilibrium, colloidal particles always gather at the bottom of any attractive potential; however, under non-equilibrium driving forces in a bacterial bath, the colloids disperse if disorder is added to the potential. The depth of the local roughness in the environment regulates the transition between gathering and dispersal of individuals in the active matter system, thus inspiring novel routes for controlling emerging behaviours far from equilibrium