Optical density of states near planar ENZ materials.

We study the local density of optical states (LDOS) for lossy dielectric substrates whose electric permittivity has a vanishing real part, approaching zero from the positive side of the real axis. A criterion for evaluating the threshold height above (below) which radiative (non-radiative) processes dominate for a dipole emitter is established. We focus on the case of a vertical dipole above the ϵ-near-zero (ENZ) substrate and show that, in the lossless case, complete LDOS cancellation originates from radiative modes in its near field. We evaluate the performance of commercially available ENZ materials and quantify the limits of such cancellation effects with the intrinsic losses of the substrate.

Differential effect of high-fat, high-sucrose and combined high-fat/high-sucrose diets consumption on fat accumulation, serum leptin and cardiac hypertrophy in rats.

The consumption of high calorie-content diets is the first cause of obesity, probably the main health issue worldwide; however, the experimental evidences for evaluating the differential metabolic modifications of high-sucrose or high-fat diets are scare. We evaluated the metabolic outcomes of the obesity induced by the chronic consumption of high-sucrose (HS), high-fat (HF) or combined diets (HSHF), among the effect on the development of cardiac hypertrophy in Wistar rats. Rats from the HS, HF, and HSHS groups developed moderate obesity. Only the HS group showed increased triglycerides levels after four months. Increased leptin levels were observed in HS and HF groups without changes on cardiac hypertrophy; on the opposing, HSHF group presented hypertrophy without the changes in serum leptin. The three experimental groups showed a decreased expression of leptin receptors ObR-b. In our results, the kind of diet for the induction of obesity is relevant for the outcome of the pathological profile.

Surface plasmon polariton Wannier-Stark ladder.

The propagation of a surface plasmon polariton on a planar metal surface perturbed by N equally spaced rectangular grooves, each with the same width but with varying depths, is investigated by the finite-difference time-domain method. For a linear dependence of the depth of the nth groove on n, the transmissivity of the surface plasmon polariton and of the power radiated into the vacuum above the surface, as functions of its frequency, consist of N equally spaced dips and peaks, respectively. These are the signatures of the surface plasmon polariton analog of a Wannier-Stark ladder.

Interference of a pair of symmetric partially coherent beams.

We study theoretically and experimentally the interference of light produced by a pair of mutually correlated Schell-model sources. The spatial distributions of the fields produced by the two sources are inverted with respect to each other through their common center in the source plane. When the beams are in phase, a bright spot appears in the center of the spatial distribution of the beam intensity. When the beams have a phase shift phi= pi, a dark spot appears in the center of the spatial distribution of the beam intensity. Experimental results that illustrate these results are included. Both bright and dark spots diverge more slowly with the increasing distance from the sources than the beam itself.

Single-mode Er-doped fiber random laser with distributed Bragg grating feedback.

We report the implementation of a one-dimensional random laser based on an Er/Ge co-doped single-mode fiber with randomly spaced Bragg gratings. The random grating array forms a complex cavity with high quality factor resonances in the range of gain wavelengths centered around 1535.5 nm. The reflection spectra of the grating array and the emission spectra of the laser are investigated for different numbers of gratings. The experimental results are compared qualitatively with numerical simulations of the light propagation in one-dimensional Bragg grating arrays based on a transfer matrix method. The system is pumped at 980 nm and the experimentally observed output radiation presents a typical laser threshold behavior as a function of the pump power. We find that the laser output contains several competing spectral modes.

Electromagnetic model and calculations of the surface-enhanced Raman-shifted emission from Langmuir-Blodgett films on metal nanostructures.

We present a theoretical study of the electromagnetic contribution to surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from a Langmuir-Blodgett film close to a metal surface. This macroscopic dipolar model fully accounts for the Raman-shifted emission so that meaningful SERS (electromagnetic) enhancement factors that do not depend only on the local electromagnetic field enhancement at the pump frequency are defined. For a plane metal surface, analytical SERS enhancement factors that are consistent for all pump beam polarization and molecular orientation are obtained. In order to investigate SERS on complex nanostructured metal surfaces, we introduce this model into the formally exact, Green's theorem surface integral equation formulation of the scattered electromagnetic field. This formulation is thus employed to calculate numerically the near-field and far-field emissions at the Raman-shifted frequency for very rough, random nanostructured surfaces, with emphasis on the impact of collective processes for varying pump frequency and Raman shift. Our results reveal that the widely used |E|4 approximation tends to overestimate average SERS enhancement factors.

Light scattering from randomly rough surfaces.

A survey is given of a variety of effects that can arise in the scattering of electromagnetic waves from one- and two-dimensional randomly rough surfaces. The focus is primarily on multiple-scattering effects such as enhanced backscattering, enhanced transmission, satellite peaks, new features in speckle correlations and in second harmonic generation in reflection. Theoretical treatments of these phenomena are outlined, and experimental results illustrating them are presented.

Interference of a pair of symmetric Collett-Wolf beams.

We present a study of the interference of light produced by a pair of mutually correlated Gaussian Schell-model sources. The spatial distributions of the fields produced by these sources are symmetric with respect to a plane through their common center and differ by a phase factor exp(i phi). When phi = 0, the resulting radiation is a beam with an intensity distribution that displays a narrow bright line at its center. When the sources can be regarded as Collett-Wolf sources, the resulting bright line diverges much more slowly than the beam itself. When phi = pi the radiated beam has an intensity distribution with a narrow dark line at its center. The theoretical results are supported by experimental results obtained by use of a modified Michelson interferometer and suggest that the interference of a pair of correlated Collett-Wolf beams can be used to produce a pseudo-nondiffracting beam.

Intermode light diffusion in multimode optical waveguides with rough surfaces.

A theoretical analysis of incoherent intermode light power diffusion in multimode dielectric waveguides with rough (corrugated) surfaces is presented. The correlation length a of the surface-profile variations is assumed to be sufficiently large (a less less than lambda/2pi) to permit light scattering into the outer space only from the modes close to the critical angles of propagation and yet sufficiently small (a less less than d, where d is the average width of the waveguide) to permit direct interaction between a given mode and a large number of neighboring ones. The cases of a one-dimensional (1D) slab waveguide and a two-dimensional cylindrical waveguide (optical fiber) are analyzed, and we find that in both cases the partial differential equations that govern the evolution of the angular light power profile propagating along the waveguide are 1D and of the diffusion type. However, whereas in the former case the effective conductivity coefficient proves to be linearly dependent on the transverse-mode wave number, in the latter one the linear dependence is for the effective diffusion coefficient. The theoretical predictions are in reasonable agreement with experimental results for the intermode power diffusion in multimode (700 x 700) optical fibers with etched surfaces. The characteristic length of dispersion of a narrow angular power profile evaluated from the correlation length and standard deviation of heights of the surface profile proved to be in good agreement with the experimentally observed changes in the output angular power profiles.

Enhanced specular peaks in diffuse light scattering from weakly rough metal surfaces.

We employ Monte Carlo techniques based on the reduced Rayleigh equations to study an enhanced specular peak that appears in the light scattered from weakly rough metal surfaces. This peak is not associated with the specular reflection but instead appears, with finite angular width, at the specular angle of the mean diffusely scattered intensity. As is the case with backscattering enhancement, the specular peak arises from the interference of contributions of multiple-scattering processes related to surface plasmon polariton excitation. We demonstrate that the specular peak is seen clearly for surface roughness that has a conventional Gaussian power spectrum. Further, we show that the peak appears more distinctly for roughness whose power spectrum has a new rectangular form, which is proposed here with the intent of better isolation of the scattering processes essential to the specular peak. Finally, for a pair of rough surfaces that have appropriately correlated surface roughness, it is found that the cross correlation of scattered amplitudes presents a well-isolated specular peak, which directly demonstrates the constructive interference that produces the effect.

Two-dimensional random surfaces that act as circular diffusers.

We propose a method for designing a two-dimensional random Dirichlet surface that, when it is illuminated at normal incidence by a scalar plane wave, scatters the wave with a circularly symmetric distribution of intensity. The method is applied to the design of a surface that acts as a Lambertian diffuser. The method is tested by computer simulations, and a procedure for fabricating such surfaces on photoresist is described.

Nonreciprocal effects in the double passage of light through a random diffuser and a birefringent crystal.

We present a theoretical and experimental study of the scattering of light by double passage through a system that consists of a strong diffuser, a piece of birefringent crystal, and a plane mirror. We show that this arrangement can produce not only enhanced backscattering and satellite peaks but also satellite dips in the angular distribution of the mean intensity. The experiments are in agreement with theoretical results based on scalar diffraction theory in the paraxial approximation.

Photofabrication of random achromatic optical diffusers for uniform illumination.

We propose a method of designing two-dimensional random surfaces that scatter light uniformly within a specified range of angles and produce no scattering outside that range. The method is first tested by means of computer simulations. Then a procedure for fabricating such structures on photoresist is described, and light-scattering measurements with the fabricated samples are presented. The results validate the design procedure and show that the fabrication method is feasible.

Influence of nanoscale cutoff in random self-affine fractal silver surfaces on the excitation of localized optical modes.

We report rigorous numerical calculations of the near field scattered from rough, one-dimensional self-affine fractal silver surfaces. We show that fractal lower-scale cutoff (decreased to the order of tens of nanometers) has a strong effect on excitation and strength of localized optical modes, leading to very large enhancements of the intensity (larger than 10(4)) and fluctuations of the electric field.

Polarization properties of the near-field intensity reflected by metallic and dielectric one-dimensional structures.

We investigate the state of polarization and near-field intensity distribution in the vicinity of rectangular groove objects ruled on metallic and dielectric materials. The sample is illuminated from the vacuum side by a linear combination of p- and s-polarised waves. Two rigorous methods of solution are used and compared in calculations of the total intensity at constant height when the light is incident normally onto the surface. Some calculations of the total intensity in the 'follow-the-profile mode' are also presented. It is shown that in the constant height mode, the contrast in the image can be reversed as the plane of observation moves away from the mean plane of the sample. We also found that the state of polarization depends strongly on the material and the distance to the plane of detection.

Observation of satellite peaks and dips in the scattering of light in a double-pass geometry.

We report the experimental observation of enhanced backscattering and satellite peaks and dips in light scattered by a system that involves double passage of waves through a random-phase screen and a birefringent crystal.

Coherent scattering by one-dimensional randomly rough metallic surfaces.

A critical evaluation of various theoretical techniques for calculating the reflectivity of one-dimensional metallic randomly rough surfaces is presented. We proceed by comparing experimental and rigorous numerical results with those obtained with three perturbation theories and the Kirchhoff approximation. The samples were fabricated in photoresist, and their metallized surface profiles constitute good approximations to Gaussian-correlated, Gaussian random processes. The correlation lengths of these surfaces range from approximately one third to approximately three times the infrared wavelengths employed. The results show that the phase-perturbation theory has wider applicability than the other perturbation theories and the results based on the Kirchhoff approximation.

Light scattering by a reentrant fractal surface.

Recently, rigorous numerical techniques for treating light scattering problems with one-dimensional rough surfaces have been developed. In their usual formulation, these techniques are based on the solution of two coupled integral equations and are applicable only to surfaces whose profiles can be described by single-valued functions of a coordinate in the mean plane of the surface. In this paper we extend the applicability of the integral equation method to surfaces with multivalued profiles. A procedure for finding a parametric description of a given profile is described, and the scattering equations are established within the framework of this formalism. We then present some results of light scattering from a sequence of one-dimensional flat surfaces with defects in the form of triadic Koch curves. Beyond a certain order of the prefractal, the scattering patterns become stationary (within the numerical accuracy of the method). It can then be argued that the results obtained correspond to a surface with a fractal structure. These constitute, to our knowledge, the first rigorous calculations of light scattering from a reentrant fractal surface.

Multiple-scattering effects in the second-harmonic generation of light in reflection from a randomly rough metal surface.

We present a rigorous numerical simulation analysis of the second-harmonic generation of p-polarized light in reflection from a one-dimensional, randomly rough, metal surface when the plane of incidence is perpendicular to the generators of the surface. When the incident light cannot couple to surface electromagnetic waves supported by the metal surface at the fundamental frequency, the angular distribution of the intensity of the incoherent component of the scattered light at the harmonic frequency displays either well-defined peaks or dips in the retroreflection direction and in the direction normal to the mean plane of the surface. These effects are suppressed by the direct excitation of surface polaritons at the fundamental frequency.

Scattering by one-dimensional random rough metallic surfaces in a conical configuration.

We present experimental results on the angular distribution of the light scattered by a one-dimensional goldcoated randomly rough surface in a conical configuration. The term conical refers to the case in which the plane of incidence makes an oblique angle with respect to the generators of the surface. The surface profile of our sample constitutes a good approximation to a Gaussian random process with a Gaussian correlation function. Effects related to the phenomenon of enhanced backscattering are observed.