34 research outputs found
The puzzling reliability of the Force Concept Inventory
The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) has influenced the development of many research-based pedagogies. However, no data exists on the FCI’s internal consistency or test-retest reliability. The FCI was administered twice to one hundred students during the first week of classes in an electricity and magnetism course with no review of mechanics between test administrations. High Kuder–Richardson reliability coefficient values, which estimate the average correlation of scores obtained on all possible halves of the test, suggest strong internal consistency. However, 31% of the responses changed from test to retest, suggesting weak reliability for individual questions. A chi-square analysis shows that change in responses was neither consistent nor completely random. The puzzling conclusion is that although individual FCI responses are not reliable, the FCI total score is highly reliable
Monolithic CMOS-compatible zero-index metamaterials
Zero-index materials exhibit exotic optical properties that can be utilized
for integrated-optics applications. However, practical implementation requires
compatibility with complementary metallic-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)
technologies. We demonstrate a CMOS-compatible zero-index metamaterial
consisting of a square array of air holes in a 220-nm-thick
silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. This design is achieved through a Dirac-cone
dispersion. The metamaterial is entirely composed of silicon and offers
compatibility through low-aspect-ratio structures that can be simply fabricated
in a standard device layer. This platform enables mass adoption and exploration
of zero-index-based photonic devices at low cost and high fidelity.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure
An optic to replace space and its application towards ultra-thin imaging systems
Centuries of effort to improve imaging has focused on perfecting and
combining lenses to obtain better optical performance and new functionalities.
The arrival of nanotechnology has brought to this effort engineered surfaces
called metalenses, which promise to make imaging devices more compact. However,
unaddressed by this promise is the space between the lenses, which is crucial
for image formation but takes up by far the most room in imaging systems. Here,
we address this issue by presenting the concept of and experimentally
demonstrating an optical 'spaceplate', an optic that effectively propagates
light for a distance that can be considerably longer than the plate thickness.
Such an optic would shrink future imaging systems, opening the possibility for
ultra-thin monolithic cameras. More broadly, a spaceplate can be applied to
miniaturize important devices that implicitly manipulate the spatial profile of
light, for example, solar concentrators, collimators for light sources,
integrated optical components, and spectrometers.Comment: 4 figures, 3 videos, includes complete S
Multi-resonant high-Q plasmonic metasurfaces
Resonant metasurfaces are devices composed of nanostructured sub-wavelength
scatterers that generate narrow optical resonances, enabling applications in
filtering, nonlinear optics, and molecular fingerprinting. It is highly
desirable for these applications to incorporate such devices with multiple,
high-quality-factor resonances; however, it can be challenging to obtain more
than a pair of narrow resonances in a single plasmonic surface. Here, we
demonstrate a multi-resonant metasurface that operates by extending the
functionality of surface lattice resonances, which are the collective responses
of arrays of metallic nanoparticles. This device features a series of
resonances with high quality factors (Q ~ 40), an order of magnitude larger
than what is typically achievable with plasmonic nanoparticles, as well as a
narrow free spectral range. This design methodology can be used to better
tailor the transmission spectrum of resonant metasurfaces and represents an
important step towards the miniaturization of optical devices.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, includes MATLAB code in Supplementary Material
Ultra-high-Q resonances in plasmonic metasurfaces
Plasmonic nanostructures hold promise for the realization of ultra-thin
sub-wavelength devices, reducing power operating thresholds and enabling
nonlinear optical functionality in metasurfaces. However, this promise is
substantially undercut by absorption introduced by resistive losses, causing
the metasurface community to turn away from plasmonics in favour of alternative
material platforms (e.g., dielectrics) that provide weaker field enhancement,
but more tolerable losses. Here, we report a plasmonic metasurface with a
quality-factor (Q-factor) of 2340 in the telecommunication C band by exploiting
surface lattice resonances (SLRs), exceeding the record by an order of
magnitude. Additionally, we show that SLRs retain many of the same benefits as
localized plasmonic resonances, such as field enhancement and strong
confinement of light along the metal surface. Our results demonstrate that SLRs
provide an exciting and unexplored method to tailor incident light fields, and
could pave the way to flexible wavelength-scale devices for any optical
resonating application.Comment: 15 pages, includes supporting informatio
Cross-polarized surface lattice resonances in a rectangular lattice plasmonic metasurface
Multiresonant metasurfaces could enable many applications in filtering, sensing, and nonlinear optics. However, developing a metasurface with more than one high-quality-factor or high-Qresonance at designated resonant wavelengths is challenging. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a plasmonic metasurface exhibiting different, narrow surface lattice resonances by exploiting the polarization degree of freedom where different lattice modes propagate along different dimensions of the lattice. The surface consists of aluminum nanostructures in a rectangular periodic lattice. The resulting surface lattice resonances were measured around 640 nm and 1160 nm with Q factors of ∼50 and ∼800, respectively. The latter is a record-high plasmonic Q factor within the near-infrared type-II window. Such metasurfaces could benefit such applications as frequency conversion and all-optical switching.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe