We discuss control of thermally-induced focal shifts via engineering the metalens construction and show that metalenses offer additional degree of freedom in controlling the thermal stability of optical systems, compared to standard refractive and diffractive lenses.
We investigate the effect of fabrication tolerances on photonic multimode waveguides operating in the vicinity of a third-order exceptional point degeneracy (EPD), known as a stationary inflection point (SIP). An EPD is a point in the parameter space where two or more Bloch eigenmodes coalesce in an infinite periodic waveguide, and at an SIP three modes coalesce to form the frozen mode. Waveguides operating near an SIP exhibit slow-light behavior in finite-length waveguides with anomalous cubic scaling of the group delay with waveguide length. The frozen mode facilitates stronger light-matter interactions in active media, resulting in a significant increase in the effective gain within the cavity. However, systems operating near an EPD are also exceptionally sensitive to fabrication deviations. In this work, we explore wave propagation and the impact of various fabrication imperfections in analytic models and in fabricated photonic chips for three mirrorless devices operating near an SIP. To advance the concept of the SIP laser, we also analyze how the addition of gain and loss affects the SIP performance. Our results show that while minor deviations from the ideal parameters can prevent perfect mode coalescence at the EPD, the frozen mode remains resilient to small perturbations and a significant degree of mode degeneracy prevails. These findings provide critical insights into the design and fabrication of passive and active photonic devices operating near high-order EPDs, paving the way for their practical implementation in a wide range of applications.
Hyunjun Kim, Randall Hay, Sean McDaniel, Gary Cook, Nicholas Usechak, Augustine Urbas, HeeDong Lee, Randall Corns, Kathleen Shugart, Ali Kadhim, Dean Brown, Benjamin Griffin
The superior thermal and optical properties of transparent polycrystalline ceramics make them attractive alternatives to glass-based materials for laser gain media. Fibers have other advantages of compactness, vibration-resistance, and reduced cooling requirements. Recently it was found that surface roughness caused by grain boundary grooving dominated optical scattering even though there were other scattering sources in the fiber. Therefore, a lot of effort went to fabrication of fibers with smooth surfaces. A mechanical polishing method for polycrystalline YAG fibers was developed. The fiber surface roughness was reduced, while maintaining a circular cross-section. Surface-polished 1.5% Ho-doped polycrystalline YAG fiber, 62 mm long with 31 μm diameter, was fabricated, and lasing was demonstrated from this fiber. Effects of surface-polishing on the surface roughness and scattering coefficient are presented, and lasing characteristics are discussed.
Metallic metamaterial structures are used in nanophotonics applications in order to localize and enhance an incident
electromagnetic field. We have theoretically and experimentally studied resonant coupling between plasmonic modes of
an SRR array and a quantum dot-in-a-well (DWELL) heterostructure. The near-field distribution from the SRRs on the
GaAs substrate was first modeled by electromagnetic simulations and optimized SRR dimensions for maximum nearfield
coupling at the peak absorption were extracted. The DWELL sample with a ground state emission peak at 1240 nm
was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate. The sample was uniformly covered with an
array of SRRs, and patterned by standard electron-beam-lithography. In order to study the near field coupling of the
plasmonic structure into the DWELL, optical characterization was performed on the SRR-DWELL heterostructure,
including room temperature photoluminescence, and transmission measurement.
We here presents the first unified theory of the response of plasmonic nanoshells assisted by optical gain media. Our approach combines rigorous Mie scattering equations for the plasmonic structure and the density matrix formalism, which is well known in laser physics, allowing a correct description of different relaxation and energy exchange channels in the system. We derive a fundamental equation for calculation of SPASER frequency which we claim to be valid for any type of SPASER physical geometry. We demonstrate that ONLY radiative losses are responsible for the spasing and loss compensation process in the laser resonator.
Multiple coherent effects including Fano resonances are observed in self-assembled reduced symmetry gold nanorod
systems, in particular Dolmen configurations. The bottom-up chemical method provides high quality units and
assemblies (single crystal with low surface roughness and sub 5 nm gaps) that reduce radiative losses from the plasmonic
structures. Multiple dark and bright plasmonic resonances are observed in optical dark-field scattering measurements and
electron energy loss spectroscopy. These high fidelity structures and narrow resonances are promising for future design
of high figure of merit sensors, ultrafast switches and slow light devices for optical information processing.
Coherent excitation in optical spectroscopy and control of photo-induced processes like second harmonic generation
depend on the temporal properties of ultrafast pulses. In particular, the generation of coherent pulse trains with high
repetition rate from femtosecond sources increases both nonlinear signals and the coherent excitation of resonances in molecules. In this work, we explore a Fano resonance type of metamaterial that has very large spectral dispersion properties that can be designed based on the geometry. These properties can affect both the temporal envelope and phase of each spectral component of an ultrafast pulse in useful ways and potentially lead to a means of generating high repetition rate pulse trains.
Because metamaterials often utilize strong resonances, a strong group delay dispersion (GDD) is also possible. This
property is an important parameter for ultrafast laser pulse propagation. The Multiphoton Intrapulse Interference Phase
Scan (MIIPS) technique was used to measure the GDD directly over the bandwidth of an ultrafast laser. The measured
GDD of a double-chirped dielectric mirror with a strong resonance was an order of magnitude larger than that of a
dispersive optical glass three orders of magnitude thicker and was shown to be highly wavelength dependent. The impact
of the measured dispersion of this dielectric mirror was explored computationally and the impact on pulse shape of
ultrashort pulses of light with a bandwidth comparable to the wavelength-dependent features of the GDD is shown.
Both coherence and polarization play an important role in microscopy. It was long ago established that, in the
context of scalar treatments, Köhler and critical illumination produce equivalent coherence functions in an object
plane. This paper examines this equivalence in the context of polarization vortex illumination. Using a reversed-wavefront
Young interferometer (RWYI), we show measurements of the coherence and correlation properties of
the output illumination plane of various illumination systems. We compare the coherence properties of critical
and Köhler vortex illumination schemes and look at the effects these properties have in an imaging system.
A reversed-wavefront Young interferometer has recently been proposed and demonstrated for a direct measurement
of optical coherence. It relies on the creation of a reversed-wavefront replica of an electromagnetic
beam in such a way that the coherence function of the initial beam can be mapped out by simple translation
of a pair of pinholes in a Young's interference experiment. The same interferometer can, in principle, be used
for polarization-dependent coherence measurements, but presents significant challenges. In this paper, we will
describe the calibration of the interferometer and show measurements of the polarization-dependent coherence
function of two optical sources.
Interference lithography of polymer dispersed liquid crystals allows rapid, facile fabrication of complex polymeric
photonic structures that have an inherent electro-optic component for agile structures. The polymerization mechanism
(step-growth or chain growth) strongly influences the morphology of the LC droplet and distribution within the polymer
matrix. Using a multi-functional acrylate monomer that undergoes chain growth polymerization leads to asymmetrical
LC droplets of random size and distribution, in contrast to the step-growth mechanism of thiol-ene formation where LC
droplets form with a nearly uniform size distribution and spherical shape. Thiol-ene holographic polymer dispersed
liquid crystals (H-PDLCs) diffraction structures have narrower bandwidth and less baseline scatter than the acrylatebased H-PDLCs. Furthermore, distributed feedback lasers constructed from thiolene-based H-PDLC lasers show
marked improvement in the optical and electro-optical properties as evinced by the factor of two decrease in switching
voltage and the reduction of lasing threshold from 0.17 mJ cm-2 to 0.07 mJ cm-2. These differences in optical and
electro-optic properties directly correlate with the difference in microscale morphology of the H-PDLCs giving insight to
the importance of microscale structure on macroscale phenomenon.
Multifunctional acrylate formulations containing nematic liquid crystals have been shown to form holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal gratings (H-PDLCs) easily using ultra-violet AND/OR visible photoinitiators. Laser wavelengths of 364, 476, 488, 514, 532 and 647 nm have been used for the fabrication of the gratings. Recently, the use of a thiol-ene based monomer system has been shown to overcome some of the adverse effects like post polymerization, voltage creep, and non-uniform shrinkage incurred when using highly functional acrylate monomers. However, Bragg reflection gratings have only been demonstrated utilizing ultra-violet (UV) (363.8 nm Argon ion) photopolymerization. Using UV irradiation and single prism geometry limits the upper end of the reflection notch wavelength. In this work, we report on new visible photoinitiator systems developed for the formation of reflective H-PDLCs using thiol-ene monomers. Using these new photoinitiator systems, reflection notches have been routinely written from the visible to the near infrared (IR) regions. The visible photoinitiator systems included the photoinitiator and radical generator titanocene organo-metallic complex (commercially known as Irgacure 784 (Ciba-Geigy), Rhodamine 6G, Pyrromethene, and a radical generating organic peroxide as coinitiator. Reflection gratings were written using laser wavelengths 442, 488, and 532 nm with diffraction efficiencies (DEs) above 70%. Angle tuning allowed for gratings with reflection notches in the near IR (900-1500 nm) to be written using these initiator systems. Rhodamine 6G was found to be more efficient than the other two initiators. We discuss here this new chemistry, the morphology, and electro-optical properties of the reflection gratings.
Holography offers a versatile, rapid and volume scalable approach for making large area, multi-dimensional, organic PBGs; however, the small refractive index contrast of organics prevents formation of a complete band-gap. The introduction of inorganic nanoparticles to the structure provides a possible solution. In contrast to the multiple steps (exposure, development and infiltration) necessitated by lithographic-based holography (e.g. photoresists), holographic photopolymerization of monomer-nanoparticle suspensions enables one-step fabrication of multidimensional organic-inorganic photonic band gap (PBG) structures with high refractive index contrast. The PBGs are formed by segregation of semiconductor nanocrystals during polymerization of the polymer network. Addition of CdSe/ZnS polymerization of the highly cross-linked polymer network. Addition of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots or ZnO nanocrystals to the H-PDLCs formulation results in phase segregation of the nanoparticles into the liquid crystal rich lamellae, producing photonic structures with high diffraction efficiencies that may be modulated by application of an external electric field.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.