249 research outputs found
A Broadband Scalar Vortex Coronagraph
Broadband coronagraphy with deep nulling and small inner working angle has
the potential of delivering images and spectra of exoplanets and other faint
objects. In recent years, many coronagraphic schemes have been proposed, the
most promising being the optical vortex phase mask coronagraphs. In this paper,
a new scheme of broadband optical scalar vortex coronagraph is proposed and
characterized experimentally in the laboratory. Our setup employs a pair of
computer generated phase gratings (one of them containing a singularity) to
control the chromatic dispersion of phase plates and achieves a constant
peak-to-peak attenuation below over a bandwidth of 120 nm
centered at 700 nm. An inner working angle of ~\lambda/D is demonstrated along
with a raw contrast of 11.5 magnitudes at 2\lambda/D.Comment: Accepted, 6 pages, 6 image
Asymmetric transmission of linearly polarized light at optical metamaterials
We experimentally demonstrate a three-dimensional chiral optical metamaterial
that exhibits an asymmetric transmission for forwardly and backwardly
propagating linearly polarized light. The observation of this novel effect
requires a metamaterial composed of three-dimensional chiral metaatoms without
any rotational symmetry. Our analysis is supported by a systematic
investigation of the transmission matrices for arbitrarily complex, lossy media
that allows deriving a simple criterion for asymmetric transmission in an
arbitrary polarization base. Contrary to physical intuition, in general the
polarization eigenstates in such three-dimensional and low-symmetry
metamaterials do not obey fxed relations and the associated transmission
matrices cannot be symmetrized
Decomposing the scattered field of two-dimensional metaatoms into multipole contributions
We introduce a technique to decompose the scattered near field of
two-dimensional arbitrary metaatoms into its multipole contributions. To this
end we expand the scattered field upon plane wave illumination into cylindrical
harmonics as known from Mie theory. By relating these cylin- drical harmonics
to the field radiated by Cartesian multipoles, the contribution of the lowest
order electric and magnetic multipoles can be identified. Revealing these
multipoles is essential for the design of metamaterials because they largely
determine the character of light propagation. In par- ticular, having this
information at hand it is straightforward to distinguish between effects that
result either from the arrangement of the metaatoms or from their particular
design
Soliton excitation in waveguide arrays with an effective intermediate dimensionality
We reveal and observe experimentally significant modifications undertaken by
discrete solitons in waveguide lattices upon the continuous transformation of
the lattice structure from one-dimensional to two-dimensional. Light evolution
and soliton excitation in arrays with a gradually increasing number of rows are
investigated, yielding solitons with an effective reduced dimensionality
residing at the edge and in the bulk of the lattice.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Physical Review Letter
Doubly resonant optical nanoantenna arrays for polarization resolved measurements of surface-enhanced Raman scattering
We report that rhomb-shaped metal nanoantenna arrays support multiple
plasmonic resonances, making them favorable bio-sensing substrates. Besides the
two localized plasmonic dipole modes associated with the two principle axes of
the rhombi, the sample supports an additional grating-induced surface plasmon
polariton resonance. The plasmonic properties of all modes are carefully
studied by far-field measurements together with numerical and analytical
calculations. The sample is then applied to surface-enhanced Raman scattering
measurements. It is shown to be highly efficient since two plasmonic resonances
of the structure were simultaneously tuned to coincide with the excitation and
the emission wave- length in the SERS experiment. The analysis is completed by
measuring the impact of the polarization angle on the SERS signal.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Analytical Model for Metamaterials with Quantum Ingredients
We present an analytical model for describing complex dynamics of a hybrid
system consisting of interacting classical and quantum resonant structures.
Classical structures in our model correspond to plasmonic nano-resonators of
different geometries, as well as other types of nano- and micro-structures
optical response of which can be described without invoking quantum-mechanical
treatment. Quantum structures are represented by atoms or molecules, or their
aggregates (for example, quantum dots and carbon nanotubes), which can be
accurately modelled only with the use of quantum approach. Our model is based
on the set of equations that combines well-established density matrix formalism
appropriate for quantum systems, coupled with harmonic-oscillator equations
ideal for modelling sub-wavelength plasmonic and optical resonators. This model
can also be straightforwardly adopted for describing electromagnetic dynamics
of various hybrid systems outside the photonics realm, such as
Josephson-junction metamaterials, or SQUID elements coupled with an RF strip
resonator.Comment: 9 pages, no figure
Contribution of the magnetic resonance to the third harmonic generation from a fishnet metamaterial
We investigate experimentally and theoretically the third harmonic generated
by a double-layer fishnet metamaterial. To unambiguously disclose most notably
the influence of the magnetic resonance, the generated third harmonic was
measured as a function of the angle of incidence. It is shown experimentally
and numerically that when the magnetic resonance is excited by pump beam, the
angular dependence of the third harmonic signal has a local maximum at an
incidence angle of {\theta} \simeq 20{\deg}. This maximum is shown to be a
fingerprint of the antisymmetric distribution of currents in the gold layers.
An analytical model based on the nonlinear dynamics of the electrons inside the
gold shows excellent agreement with experimental and numerical results. This
clearly indicates the difference in the third harmonic angular pattern at
electric and magnetic resonances of the metamaterial.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
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Quasi-linearly polarized hybrid modes in tapered and metal-coated tips with circular apertures: understanding the functionality of aperture tips
In this study, we investigate analytically and experimentally the roles of quasi-linearly polarized (LP), hybrid, plasmonic and photonic modes in optical detection and excitation with aperture tips in scanning near-field optical microscopy. Aperture tips are tapered and metal-coated optical fibers where small circular apertures are made at the apex. In aperture tips, there exist plasmonic modes that are bound at the interface of the metal cladding to the inner dielectric fiber and photonic modes that are guided in the area of the increased index in the dielectric fiber core. The fundamental photonic mode, although excited by the free-space Gaussian beam, experiences cutoff and turns into an evanescent mode. The photonic mode also becomes lossier than the plasmonic mode toward the tip aperture, and its power decay due to absorption and reflection is expected to be at least 10−9. In contrast, the fundamental plasmonic mode has no cutoff and thus reaches all the way to the tip aperture. Due to the non-adiabaticity of both modes' propagations through the taper below a core radius of 600 nm, there occurs coupling between the modes. The transmission efficiency of the plasmonic mode, including the coupling efficiency and the propagation loss, is expected to be about 10−6 that is at least 3 orders of magnitude larger than that of the photonic mode. Toward the tip aperture, the longitudinal field of the photonic mode becomes stronger than the transverse ones while the transverse fields always dominate for the plasmonic mode. Experimentally, we obtain polarization resolved images of the near-field at the tip aperture and compare with the x- and y-components of the fundamental quasi-LP plasmonic and photonic modes. The results show that not only the pattern but also the intensity ratios of the x- and y-components of the aperture near-field match with that of the fundamental plasmonic mode. Consequently, we conclude that only the plasmonic mode reaches the tip aperture and thus governs the near-field interaction outside the tip aperture. Our conclusion remains valid for all aperture tips regardless of the cladding metal type that mainly influences the total transmission efficiency of the aperture tip
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