Intracavity enhancement of GFP fluorescence induced by femtosecond laser pulses.

The phenomenon of fluorescence is widely used in molecular biology for studying the interaction of light with biological objects. In this article, we present an experimental investigation of the enhancement of laser-induced fluorescence of Clytia gregaria green fluorescent protein. The laser-induced fluorescence method applied in our work combines the advantages of femtosecond laser pulses and a photonic crystal cavity, with the time dependence of the fluorescence signal studied. It is shown that a green fluorescent protein solution placed in a microcavity and excited by femtosecond laser pulses leads to an increase in fluorescence on the microcavity modes, which can be estimated by two orders of magnitude. The dependences of fluorescence signal saturation on the average integrated optical pump power are demonstrated and analyzed. The results obtained are of interest for the development of potential applications of biophotonics and extension of convenient methods of laser-induced fluorescence.

Synchronously controlled optical modes in the transmittance and reflectance spectra of multilayer photonic structure with dual-frequency nematic liquid crystal.

A method for electrically controlled synchronous mode tuning in the transmittance and reflectance spectra of a photonic structure consisting of an asymmetric dielectric Fabry-Pérot microcavity and an ultrathin metallic film has been proposed. The excitation of a broadband Tamm plasmon polariton at a metal/Bragg mirror interface is accompanied by the two phenomena opposing one another. Due to the strong absorption induced by the metal, a sufficient rejection level in the reflection of the off-resonant radiation has been obtained in a wide spectral range, which almost coincides with the photonic band gap, while at the cavity mode frequencies the structure becomes transparent for the reflected radiation. This leads to the appearance of a series of narrow resonance peaks in the reflectance spectra that coincide in frequency with the transmittance peaks. Based on the structural transformations in the dual-frequency nematic liquid crystal used as a photonic structure defect, the tuning of the modes corresponding to the extraordinary waves to both the short- and long-wavelength spectral ranges has been implemented.

Two-dimensional Talbot effect of the optical vortices and their spatial evolution.

We report on the experimental and theoretical study of the near-field diffraction of optical vortices (OVs) at a two-dimensional diffraction grating. The Talbot effect for the optical vortices in the visible range is experimentally observed and the respective Talbot carpets for the optical vortices are experimentally obtained for the first time. It is shown that the spatial configuration of the light field behind the grating represents a complex three-dimensional lattice of beamlet-like optical vortices. A unit cell of the OV lattice is reconstructed using the experimental data and the spatial evolution of the beamlet intensity and phase singularities of the optical vortices is demonstrated. In addition, the self-healing effect for the optical vortices, which consists in flattening of the central dip in the annular intensity distribution, i.e., restoring the image of the object plane predicted earlier is observed. The calculated results agree well with the experimental ones. The results obtained can be used to create and optimize the 3D OV lattices for a wide range of application areas.

Generation, amplification, frequency conversion, and reversal of propagation of THz photons in nonlinear hyperbolic metamaterial.

We propose metamaterial (MM) that supports a mixture of three or more normal and backward electromagnetic modes with equal co-directed phase velocities and mutually contra-directed energy fluxes. This enables extraordinary three-wave mixing, greatly enhanced optical parametric amplification, and frequency-changing generation of entangled photons in the reflection direction. Proof-of-principle numerical simulation of such processes is presented based on the particular example of the wave-guided terahertz waves contra-propagating in the MM made of carbon nanotubes.

Three-wave mixing of ordinary and backward electromagnetic waves: extraordinary transients in the nonlinear reflectivity and parametric amplification.

Three-wave mixing of ordinary and backward electromagnetic waves in a pulsed regime is investigated in the metamaterials that enable the coexistence and phase-matching of such waves. It is shown that the opposite direction of phase velocity and energy flux in backward waves gives rise to extraordinary transient processes due to greatly enhanced optical parametric amplification and frequency up- and down-shifting nonlinear reflectivity. The differences are illustrated through comparison with the counterparts in ordinary, co-propagating settings.

Geometric phase and o-mode blueshift in a chiral anisotropic medium inside a Fabry-Pérot cavity.

Anomalous spectral shift of transmission peaks is observed in a Fabry-Pérot cavity filled with a chiral anisotropic medium. The effective refractive index value resides out of the interval between the ordinary and the extraordinary refractive indices. The spectral shift is explained by contribution of a geometric phase. The problem is solved analytically using the approximate Jones matrix method, numerically using the accurate Berreman method, and geometrically using the generalized Mauguin-Poincaré rolling cone method. The o-mode blueshift is measured for a 4-methoxybenzylidene-4'-n-butylaniline twisted-nematic layer inside the Fabry-Pérot cavity. The twist is electrically induced due to the homeoplanar-twisted configuration transition in an ionic-surfactant-doped liquid crystal layer. Experimental evidence confirms the validity of the theoretical model.

Voltage-induced defect mode coupling in a one-dimensional photonic crystal with a twisted-nematic defect layer.

Defect modes are investigated in a band gap of an electrically tunable one-dimensional photonic crystal infiltrated with a twisted-nematic liquid crystal. Their frequency shift and interference under applied voltage are studied both experimentally and theoretically. We deal with the case where the defect layer thickness is much larger than the wavelength (i.e., the Mauguin condition). It is shown theoretically that the defect modes could have a complex structure with elliptic polarization. Two series of polarized modes are coupled with each other and exhibit an avoided crossing phenomenon in the case of opposite parity.

Negative group velocity and three-wave mixing in dielectric crystals.

We investigate extraordinary features of optical parametric amplification of Stokes electromagnetic waves that originate from the three-wave mixing of a backward phonon wave with negative group velocity and two ordinary electromagnetic waves. Such properties were earlier shown to exist only in plasmonic negative-index metamaterials that are very challenging to fabricate. Nonlinear optical photonic devices with properties similar to those predicted for negative-index metamaterials are proposed.

Magnetic-field tunable defect modes in a photonic-crystal/liquid-crystal cell.

Light transmission spectrum of a multilayer photonic crystal with a central liquid-crystal defect layer placed between crossed polarizers has been studied. Transmittance was varied due to the magnetically induced reorientation of the nematic director from homeotropic to planar alignment. Two notable effects were observed for this scheme: the spectral shift of defect modes corresponding to the extraordinary light wave and its superposition with the ordinary one. As a result, the optical cell allows controlling the intensity of interfering defect modes by applied magnetic field.

Microscopic mirrorless negative-index optical parametric oscillator.

The feasibility and extraordinary properties of mirrorless optical parametric oscillations in a microscopic strongly absorbing slab of negative-index metamaterial are shown. They stem from the backwardness of electromagnetic waves inherent with this type of metamaterial.

Four-wave mixing, quantum control, and compensating losses in doped negative-index photonic metamaterials.

The possibility of compensating absorption in negative-index metamaterials (NIMs) doped by resonant nonlinear-optical centers is shown. The role of quantum interference and the extraordinary properties of four-wave parametric amplification of counterpropagating electromagnetic waves in NIMs are discussed.