Experimental Investigation of the Thermal Emission Cross Section of Nanoresonators Using Hierarchical Poisson-Disk Distributions.

Effective cross sections of nano-objects are fundamental properties that determine their ability to interact with light. However, measuring them for individual resonators directly and quantitatively remains challenging, particularly because of the very low signals involved. Here, we experimentally measure the thermal emission cross section of metal-insulator-metal nanoresonators using a stealthy hyperuniform distribution based on a hierarchical Poisson-disk algorithm. In such distributions, there are no long-range interactions between antennas, and we show that the light emitted by such metasurfaces behaves as the sum of cross sections of independent nanoantennas, enabling direct retrieval of the single resonator contribution. The emission cross section at resonance is found to be on the order of λ_{0}^{2}/3, a value that is nearly 3 times larger than the theoretical maximal absorption cross section of a single particle, but remains smaller than the maximal extinction cross section. This measurement technique can be generalized to any single resonator cross section, and we also apply it to a lossy dielectric layer.

Single-emitter super-resolved imaging of radiative decay rate enhancement in dielectric gap nanoantennas.

High refractive index dielectric nanoantennas strongly modify the decay rate via the Purcell effect through the design of radiative channels. Due to their dielectric nature, the field is mainly confined inside the nanostructure and in the gap, which is hard to probe with scanning probe techniques. Here we use single-molecule fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (smFLIM) to map the decay rate enhancement in dielectric GaP nanoantenna dimers with a median localization precision of 14 nm. We measure, in the gap of the nanoantenna, decay rates that are almost 30 times larger than on a glass substrate. By comparing experimental results with numerical simulations we show that this large enhancement is essentially radiative, contrary to the case of plasmonic nanoantennas, and therefore has great potential for applications such as quantum optics and biosensing.

Waveguide efficient directional coupling and decoupling via an integrated plasmonic nanoantenna.

The development of integrated photonic devices has led to important advancements in the field of light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. One of the main focal points is the coupling between single photon emitters and optical waveguides aiming to achieve efficient optical confinement and propagation. In this work, we focus on the characterization of a hybrid dielectric/plasmonic waveguide consisting of a gold triangular nanoantenna placed on top of a TiO2 waveguide. The strong directionality of the device is experimentally demonstrated by comparing the intensity scattered by the nanotriangle to the one scattered by a SNOM tip for different illumination geometries. The ability of the plasmonic antenna to generate powerful coupling between a single emitter and the waveguide will also be highlighted through numerical simulations.

Hybrid modes in a single thermally excited asymmetric dimer antenna.

The study of hybrid modes in a single dimer of neighboring antennas is an essential step to optimize the far-field electromagnetic (EM) response of large-scale metasurfaces or any complex antenna structure made up of subwavelength building blocks. Here we present far-field infrared spatial modulation spectroscopy (IR-SMS) measurements of a single thermally excited asymmetric dimer of square metal-insulator-metal (MIM) antennas separated by a nanometric gap. Through thermal fluctuations, all the EM modes of the antennas are excited, and hybrid bonding and anti-bonding modes can be observed simultaneously. We study the latter within a plasmon hybridization model, and analyze their effect on the far-field response.

Imaging light scattered by a subwavelength nanofiber, from near field to far field.

We present a direct experimental investigation of the optical field distribution around a suspended tapered optical nanofiber by means of a fluorescent scanning probe. Using a 100 nm diameter fluorescent bead as a probe of the field intensity, we study interferences made by a nanofiber (400 nm diameter) scattering a plane wave (568 nm wavelength). Our scanning fluorescence near-field microscope maps the optical field over 36 µm2, with λ/5 resolution, from contact with the surface of the nanofiber to a few micrometers away. Comparison between experiments and Mie scattering theory allows us to precisely determine the emitter-nanofiber distance and experimental drifts.

Near-Field and Far-Field Thermal Emission of an Individual Patch Nanoantenna.

The far-field spectral and near-field spatial responses of an individual metal-insulator-metal nanoantenna are reported, using thermal fluctuations as an internal source of the electromagnetic field. The far-field spectra, obtained by combining Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with spatial modulation based on a light falloff effect in a confocal geometry, have revealed two distinct emission peaks attributed to the excitation of the fundamental mode of the nanoantenna at two distinct wavelengths. Superresolved near-field images of the thermally excited mode have been obtained by thermal radiation scanning tunneling microscopy. Experimental results are supported by numerical simulations showing that it is possible to excite the same mode at different wavelengths near a resonance of the insulating dielectric material forming the antenna.

Near-field to far-field characterization of speckle patterns generated by disordered nanomaterials.

We study the intensity spatial correlation function of optical speckle patterns above a disordered dielectric medium in the multiple scattering regime. The intensity distributions are recorded by scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) with sub-wavelength spatial resolution at variable distances from the surface in a range which spans continuously from the near-field (distance ≪ λ) to the far-field regime (distance ≫ λ). The non-universal behavior at sub-wavelength distances reveals the connection between the near-field speckle pattern and the internal structure of the medium.

Blackbody spectrum revisited in the near field.

We report local spectra of the near-field thermal emission recorded by a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, using a tungsten tip as a local scatterer coupling the near-field thermal emission to the far field. Spectra recorded on silicon carbide and silicon dioxide exhibit temporal coherence due to thermally excited surface waves. Finally, we evaluate the ability of this spectroscopy to probe the frequency dependence of the electromagnetic local density of states.

Direct detection of analyte binding to single molecularly imprinted polymer particles by confocal Raman spectroscopy.

We describe the use of Raman spectroscopy to detect and quantify, for the first time, the presence of the imprinting template in single molecularly imprinted polymer microspheres. The polymers were imprinted with the beta-blocking drugs propranolol and atenolol, and precipitation polymerization was used to obtain spherical particles of diameters of 200 nm and 1.5microm. The size of the Raman laser spot being between 1microm and a few mum, the nanoparticles were used for bulk detection whereas with micrometer-sized particles, quantitative measurements on single particles were possible. The laser power, and consequently the acquisition times, needed to be adapted as a function of the polymer and template used in order to avoid burning. Analyte quantification from Raman spectra is straightforward by determining the peak height of a typical Raman band of the analyte, and by using a typical polymer peak for normalization. Relatively low detection limits down to 1microM have been reached for the detection of S-propranolol through bulk measurements on MIP nanoparticles.

Thermal radiation scanning tunnelling microscopy.

In standard near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), a subwavelength probe acts as an optical 'stethoscope' to map the near field produced at the sample surface by external illumination. This technique has been applied using visible, infrared, terahertz and gigahertz radiation to illuminate the sample, providing a resolution well beyond the diffraction limit. NSOM is well suited to study surface waves such as surface plasmons or surface-phonon polaritons. Using an aperture NSOM with visible laser illumination, a near-field interference pattern around a corral structure has been observed, whose features were similar to the scanning tunnelling microscope image of the electronic waves in a quantum corral. Here we describe an infrared NSOM that operates without any external illumination: it is a near-field analogue of a night-vision camera, making use of the thermal infrared evanescent fields emitted by the surface, and behaves as an optical scanning tunnelling microscope. We therefore term this instrument a 'thermal radiation scanning tunnelling microscope' (TRSTM). We show the first TRSTM images of thermally excited surface plasmons, and demonstrate spatial coherence effects in near-field thermal emission.

Fabrication and characterization of fluorescent rare-earth-doped glass-particle-based tips for near-field optical imaging applications.

Fluorescent rare-earth-doped glass particles glued to the end of an atomic force microscope tip have been used to perform scanning near-field optical measurements on nanostructured samples. The fixation procedure of the fluorescent fragment at the end of the tip is described in detail. The procedure consists of depositing a thin adhesive layer on the tip. Then a tip approach is performed on a fragment that remains stuck near the tip extremity. To displace the particle and position it at the very end of the tip, a nanomanipulation is achieved by use of a second tip mounted on piezoelectric scanners. Afterward, the particle size is reduced by focused ion beam milling. These particles exhibit a strong green luminescence where excited in the near infrared by an upconversion mechanism. Images obtained near a metallic edge show a lateral resolution in the 180-200-nm range. Images we obtained by measuring the light scattered by 250-nm holes show a resolution well below 100 nm. This phenomenon can be explained by a local excitation of the particle and by the nonlinear nature of the excitation.

Comparison of test images obtained from various configurations of scanning near-field optical microscopes.

The characteristics of a few experimental near-field optical microscopes, located in different laboratories, have been compared on the basis of their ability to image a well-defined submicrometer test object.