Nanoscale Generation of White Light for Ultrabroadband Nanospectroscopy.

Achieving efficient localization of white light at the nanoscale is a major challenge due to the diffraction limit, and nanoscale emitters generating light with a broadband spectrum require complicated engineering. Here we suggest a simple, yet highly efficient, nanoscale white-light source based on a hybrid Si/Au nanoparticle with ultrabroadband (1.3-3.4 eV) spectral characteristics. We incorporate this novel source into a scanning-probe microscope and observe broadband spectrum of photoluminescence that allows fast mapping of local optical response of advanced nanophotonic structures with submicron resolution, thus realizing ultrabroadband near-field nanospectroscopy.

Determination of the conformal-field-theory central charge by the Wang-Landau algorithm.

We present a simple method to estimate the central charge of the conformal field theory corresponding to a critical point of a two-dimensional lattice model from Monte Carlo simulations. The main idea is to use the Wang-Landau flat-histogram algorithm, which allows us to obtain the free energy of a lattice model on a torus as a function of torus radii. The central charge is calculated with good precision from a free-energy scaling at the critical point. We apply the method to the Ising, tricritical Ising (Blume-Capel), Potts, and site-diluted Ising models, and we also discuss an estimation of the conformal weights.

Self-adjusted all-dielectric metasurfaces for deep ultraviolet femtosecond pulse generation.

The advantage of metasurfaces and nanostructures with a high nonlinear response is that they do not require phase matching, and the generated pulses are short in the time domain without additional pulse compression. However, the fabrication of large-scale planar structures by lithography-based methods is expensive, time consuming, and requires complicated preliminary simulations to obtain the most optimized geometry. Here, we propose a novel strategy for the self-assembled fabrication of large-scale resonant metasurfaces, where incident femtosecond laser pulses adjust the initial silicon films via specific surface deformation to be as resonant as possible for a given wavelength. The self-adjusting approach eliminates the necessity of multistep lithography and designing, because interference between the incident and the scattered parts of each laser pulse "imprints" resonant field distribution within the film. The self-adjusted metasurfaces demonstrate a high damage threshold (≈1012 W cm-2) and efficient frequency conversion from near-IR to deep UV. The conversion efficiency is up to 30-fold higher compared with nonresonant smooth Si films. The resulting metasurfaces allow for the generation of UV femtosecond laser pulses at a wavelength of 270 nm with a high peak and average power (≈105 W and ≈1.5 µW, respectively). The results pave the way to the creation of ultrathin nonlinear metadevices working at high laser intensities for efficient deep UV generation at the nanoscale.

Plasmonic and silicon spherical nanoparticle antireflective coatings.

Over the last decade, plasmonic antireflecting nanostructures have been extensively studied to be utilized in various optical and optoelectronic systems such as lenses, solar cells, photodetectors, and others. The growing interest to all-dielectric photonics as an alternative optical technology along with plasmonics motivates us to compare antireflective properties of plasmonic and all-dielectric nanoparticle coatings based on silver and crystalline silicon respectively. Our simulation results for spherical nanoparticles array on top of amorphous silicon show that both silicon and silver coatings demonstrate strong antireflective properties in the visible spectral range. For the first time, we show that zero reflectance from the structure with silicon coatings originates from the destructive interference of electric- and magnetic-dipole responses of nanoparticle array with the wave reflected from the substrate, and we refer to this reflection suppression as substrate-mediated Kerker effect. We theoretically compare the silicon and silver coating effectiveness for the thin-film photovoltaic applications. Silver nanoparticles can be more efficient, enabling up to 30% increase of the overall absorbance in semiconductor layer. Nevertheless, silicon coatings allow up to 64% absorbance increase in the narrow band spectral range because of the substrate-mediated Kerker effect, and band position can be effectively tuned by varying the nanoparticles sizes.

Dark-field imaging as a noninvasive method for characterization of whispering gallery modes in microdisk cavities.

Whispering gallery mode microdisk cavities fabricated by direct laser writing are studied using dark-field imaging and spectroscopy in the visible spectral range. Dark-field imaging allows us to directly visualize the spatial intensity distribution of whispering gallery modes. We extract their azimuthal and radial mode indices from dark-field images, and find the axial mode number from the dispersion relation. The scattering spectrum obtained in the confocal arrangement provides information on the density of optical states in the resonator. The proposed technique is a simple noninvasive way to characterize the optical properties of microdisk cavities.

Laser fabrication of crystalline silicon nanoresonators from an amorphous film for low-loss all-dielectric nanophotonics.

The concept of high refractive index subwavelength dielectric nanoresonators, supporting electric and magnetic optical resonance, is a promising platform for waveguiding, sensing, and nonlinear nanophotonic devices. However, high concentration of defects in the nanoresonators diminishes their resonant properties, which are crucially dependent on their internal losses. Therefore, it seems to be inevitable to use initially crystalline materials for fabrication of the nanoresonators. Here, we show that the fabrication of crystalline (low-loss) resonant silicon nanoparticles by femtosecond laser ablation of amorphous (high-loss) silicon thin films is possible. We apply two conceptually different approaches: recently proposed laser-induced transfer and a novel laser writing technique for large-scale fabrication of the crystalline nanoparticles. The crystallinity of the fabricated nanoparticles is proven by Raman spectroscopy and electron transmission microscopy, whereas optical resonant properties of the nanoparticles are studied using dark-field optical spectroscopy and full-wave electromagnetic simulations.

Magnetic dipole radiation tailored by substrates: numerical investigation.

Nanoparticles of high refractive index materials can possess strong magnetic polarizabilities and give rise to artificial magnetism in the optical spectral range. While the response of individual dielectric or metal spherical particles can be described analytically via multipole decomposition in the Mie series, the influence of substrates, in many cases present in experimental observations, requires different approaches. Here, the comprehensive numerical studies of the influence of a substrate on the spectral response of high-index dielectric nanoparticles were performed. In particular, glass, perfect electric conductor, gold, and hyperbolic metamaterial substrates were investigated. Optical properties of nanoparticles were characterized via scattering cross-section spectra, electric field profiles, and induced electric and magnetic moments. The presence of substrates was shown to have significant impact on particle's magnetic resonances and resonant scattering cross-sections. Variation of substrate material provides an additional degree of freedom in tailoring optical properties of magnetic multipoles, important in many applications.

Manipulating polarization of light with ultrathin epsilon-near-zero metamaterials.

One of the basic functionalities of photonic devices is the ability to manipulate the polarization state of light. Polarization components are usually implemented using the retardation effect in natural birefringent crystals and, thus, have a bulky design. Here, we have demonstrated the polarization manipulation of light by employing a thin subwavelength slab of metamaterial with an extremely anisotropic effective permittivity tensor. Polarization properties of light incident on the metamaterial in the regime of hyperbolic, epsilon-near-zero, and conventional elliptic dispersions were compared. We have shown that both reflection from and transmission through λ/20 thick slab of the metamaterial may provide nearly complete linear-to-circular polarization conversion or 90° linear polarization rotation, not achievable with natural materials. Using ellipsometric measurements, we experimentally studied the polarization conversion properties of the metamaterial slab made of the plasmonic nanorod arrays in different dispersion regimes. We have also suggested all-optical ultrafast control of reflected or transmitted light polarization by employing metal nonlinearities.

Low-frequency spatial dispersion in wire media.

This work is dedicated to the theoretical analysis of wire media, i.e., lattices of perfectly conducting wires consisting of two or three doubly periodic arrays of parallel wires which are orthogonal to one another. An analytical method based on the local field approach is used. The explicit dispersion equations are presented and studied. The possibility of introducing a dielectric permittivity is discussed. The theory is validated by comparison with the numerical data available in the literature.

Example of bianisotropic electromagnetic crystals: the spiral medium.

In this paper the electromagnetic properties of bianisotropic electromagnetic crystals are studied. The crystals are assumed to be rectangular lattices of perfectly conducting helicoidal spirals. The analytical theory of dispersion and plane-wave reflection refers to the case when the spiral step and the radius are small compared to the wavelengths in the host medium. The periods of the lattice can be arbitrary. Explicit closed-form expressions are derived for the effective material parameters of the medium in the low-frequency regime. The medium eigenmodes are elliptically polarized, and one of them propagates without interaction with the lattice. As to the other eigenmode, the lattice has strong spatial dispersion even at extremely low frequencies in the direction along the spiral axes. Numerical examples are given. An analogy between the spiral medium and the medium of loaded wires is indicated.

Two-dimensional electromagnetic crystals formed by reactively loaded wires.

Two-dimensional electromagnetic crystals formed by rectangular lattices of thin ideally conducting cylinders periodically loaded by bulk reactive impedances are considered. An analytical theory of dispersion and reflection from this medium is presented. The consideration is based on the local field approach. The transcendental dispersion equation is obtained in the closed form and solved numerically. Different types of the loads such as inductive, capacitive, serial, and parallel LC circuits are considered. Typical dispersion curves and reflection coefficients are calculated and analyzed.

Nonreciprocal microwave band-gap structures.

An electrically controlled nonreciprocal electromagnetic band-gap material is proposed and studied. The new material is a periodic three-dimensional regular lattice of small magnetized ferrite spheres. In this paper, we consider plane electromagnetic waves in this medium and design an analytical model for the material parameters. An analytical solution for plane-wave reflection from a planar interface is also presented. In the proposed material, a new electrically controlled stop band appears for one of the two circularly polarized eigenwaves in a frequency band around the ferrimagnetic resonance frequency. This frequency can be well below the usual lattice band gap, which allows the realization of rather compact structures. The main properties of the material are outlined.