Optical trapping of sub-millimeter sized particles and microorganisms.

While optical tweezers (OT) are mostly used for confining smaller size particles, the counter-propagating (CP) dual-beam traps have been a versatile method for confining both small and larger size particles including biological specimen. However, CP traps are complex sensitive systems, requiring tedious alignment to achieve perfect symmetry with rather low trapping stiffness values compared to OT. Moreover, due to their relatively weak forces, CP traps are limited in the size of particles they can confine which is about 100 µm. In this paper, a new class of counter-propagating optical tweezers with a broken symmetry is discussed and experimentally demonstrated to trap and manipulate larger than 100 µm particles inside liquid media. Our technique exploits a single Gaussian beam folding back on itself in an asymmetrical fashion forming a CP trap capable of confining small and significantly larger particles (up to 250 µm in diameter) based on optical forces only. Such optical trapping of large-size specimen to the best of our knowledge has not been demonstrated before. The broken symmetry of the trap combined with the retro-reflection of the beam has not only significantly simplified the alignment of the system, but also made it robust to slight misalignments and enhances the trapping stiffness as shown later. Moreover, our proposed trapping method is quite versatile as it allows for trapping and translating of a wide variety of particle sizes and shapes, ranging from one micron up to a few hundred of microns including microorganisms, using very low laser powers and numerical aperture optics. This in turn, permits the integration of a wide range of spectroscopy techniques for imaging and studying the optically trapped specimen. As an example, we will demonstrate how this novel technique enables simultaneous 3D trapping and light-sheet microscopy of C. elegans worms with up to 450 µm length.

Parametrically resonant surface plasmon polaritons.

We present the theory of parametrically resonant surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). We show that a temporal modulation of the dielectric properties of the medium adjacent to a metallic surface can lead to efficient energy injection into the SPP modes supported at the interface. When the permittivity modulation is induced by a pump field exceeding a certain threshold intensity, such a field undergoes a reverse saturable absorption process. We introduce a time-domain formalism to account for pump saturation and depletion effects. Finally, we discuss the viability of these effects for optical limiting applications.

Nonlinear Optics: feature issue introduction.

This joint issue of Optics Express and Optical Materials Express features 18 state-of-the art articles that witness actual developments in nonlinear optics, including those by authors who participated in the international conference Nonlinear Optics held in Waikoloa, Hawaii from July 15 to 19, 2019. As an introduction, the editors provide a summary of these articles that cover all aspects of nonlinear optics, from basic nonlinear effects and novel frequency windows to innovative nonlinear materials and devices, thereby paving the way for new nonlinear optical concepts and forthcoming applications.

Plasmonic parametric absorbers.

Exploiting the dynamics of plasmonic parametric resonance (PPR), we introduce the theory of plasmonic parametric absorbers (PPAs). The key insight informing the PPA idea is that in the PPR process a pump field experiences an extinction rate that strongly depends on the intensity of the pump itself, creating two distinct regimes: one of weak absorption under low intensity illumination, and one of strong absorption when the threshold of parametric resonance is met or exceeded. Due to this reverse saturable absorption behavior, PPAs are promising candidates for optical-limiting applications.

Accumulation-layer surface plasmons in transparent conductive oxides.

A rigorous analytical study of the eigenmodes supported by a charge accumulation layer within a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) is presented. The new class of surface plasmons termed accumulation-layer surface plasmons (ASPs) is introduced. Near resonance ASPs are tightly bound and display a vast effective index tunability that could be of great practical interest. The suppression of ASPs in the presence of epsilon-near zero regions is discussed.

Nanophotonic modal dichroism: mode-multiplexed modulators.

As the diffraction limit is approached, device miniaturization to integrate more functionality per area becomes more and more challenging. Here we propose a strategy to increase the functionality-per-area by exploiting the modal properties of a waveguide system. With such an approach the design of a mode-multiplexed nanophotonic modulator relying on the mode-selective absorption of a patterned indium-tin-oxide (ITO) is proposed. Full-wave simulations of a device operating at the telecom wavelength of 1550 nm show that two modes can be independently modulated, while maintaining performances in line with conventional single-mode ITO modulators reported in the recent literature. The proposed design principles can pave the way to a class of mode-multiplexed compact photonic devices able to effectively multiply the functionality-per-area in integrated photonic systems.

Scattering detection of a solenoidal Poynting vector field.

The Poynting vector S plays a central role in electrodynamics as it is directly related to the power and the momentum carried by an electromagnetic wave. In the presence of multiple electromagnetic waves with different polarizations and propagation directions, the Poynting vector may exhibit solenoidal components which are not associated to any power flow. Here, we demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that the presence of such solenoidal components has physical consequences, and it is not a mere artifact of the gauge invariance of S. In particular, we identify a simple field configuration displaying solenoidal components of S and theoretically show that a judiciously designed scatterer can act as a "Poynting vector detector" which when immersed in such field distribution would experience a transverse optical force orthogonal to the incidence plane. We experimentally validate our theoretical predictions by observing a pronounced asymmetry in the scattering pattern of a spherical nanoparticle.

All-optical short pulse translation through cross-phase modulation in a VO2 thin film.

VO2 is a promising material for reconfigurable photonic devices due to the ultrafast changes in electronic and optical properties associated with its dielectric-to-metal phase transition. Based on a fiber-optic, pump-probe setup at 1550 nm wavelength window, and by varying the pump-pulse duration, we show that the material phase transition is primarily caused by the pump-pulse energy. For the first time, we demonstrate that the instantaneous optical phase modulation of probe during pump leading edge can be utilized to create short optical pulses at probe wavelength, through optical frequency discrimination. This circumvents the impact of long recovery time well known for the phase transition of VO2.

Macroscale Transformation Optics Enabled by Photoelectrochemical Etching.

Photoelectrochemical etching of silicon can be used to form lateral refractive index gradients for transformation optical devices. This technique allows the fabrication of macroscale devices with large refractive index gradients. Patterned porous layers can also be lifted from the substrate and transferred to other materials, creating more possibilities for novel devices.

Adiabatic far-field sub-diffraction imaging.

The limited resolution of a conventional optical imaging system stems from the fact that the fine feature information of an object is carried by evanescent waves, which exponentially decays in space and thus cannot reach the imaging plane. We introduce here an adiabatic lens, which utilizes a geometrically conformal surface to mediate the interference of slowly decompressed electromagnetic waves at far field to form images. The decompression is satisfying an adiabatic condition, and by bridging the gap between far field and near field, it allows far-field optical systems to project an image of the near-field features directly. Using these designs, we demonstrated the magnification can be up to 20 times and it is possible to achieve sub-50 nm imaging resolution in visible. Our approach provides a means to extend the domain of geometrical optics to a deep sub-wavelength scale.

Near-infrared electro-optic modulator based on plasmonic graphene.

We propose a novel scheme for an electro-optic modulator based on plasmonically enhanced graphene. As opposed to previously reported designs where the switchable absorption of graphene itself was employed for modulation, here a graphene monolayer is used to actively tune the plasmonic resonance condition through the modification of interaction between optical field and an indium tin oxide (ITO) plasmonic structure. Strong plasmonic resonance in the near infrared wavelength region can be supported by accurate design of ITO structures, and tuning the graphene chemical potential through electrical gating switches on and off the ITO plasmonic resonance. This provides much increased electro-absorption efficiency as compared to systems relying only on the tunable absorption of the graphene.

Predicting nonlinear properties of metamaterials from the linear response.

The discovery of optical second harmonic generation in 1961 started modern nonlinear optics. Soon after, R. C. Miller found empirically that the nonlinear susceptibility could be predicted from the linear susceptibilities. This important relation, known as Miller's Rule, allows a rapid determination of nonlinear susceptibilities from linear properties. In recent years, metamaterials, artificial materials that exhibit intriguing linear optical properties not found in natural materials, have shown novel nonlinear properties such as phase-mismatch-free nonlinear generation, new quasi-phase matching capabilities and large nonlinear susceptibilities. However, the understanding of nonlinear metamaterials is still in its infancy, with no general conclusion on the relationship between linear and nonlinear properties. The key question is then whether one can determine the nonlinear behaviour of these artificial materials from their exotic linear behaviour. Here, we show that the nonlinear oscillator model does not apply in general to nonlinear metamaterials. We show, instead, that it is possible to predict the relative nonlinear susceptibility of large classes of metamaterials using a more comprehensive nonlinear scattering theory, which allows efficient design of metamaterials with strong nonlinearity for important applications such as coherent Raman sensing, entangled photon generation and frequency conversion.

Plasmonic resonant solitons in metallic nanosuspensions.

Robust propagation of self-trapped light over distances exceeding 25 diffraction lengths has been demonstrated for the first time in plasmonic nanosuspensions. This phenomenon results from the interplay between optical forces and enhanced polarizability that would have been otherwise impossible in conventional dielectric dispersions. Plasmonic nanostructures such as core-shell particles, nanorods, and spheres are shown to display tunable polarizabilities depending on their size, shape, and composition, as well as the wavelength of illumination. Here we discuss nonlinear light-matter dynamics arising from an effective positive Kerr effect, which in turn allows for deep penetration of long needles of light through dissipative colloidal media. Our findings may open up new possibilities toward synthesizing soft-matter systems with customized optical nonlinearities.

Phase mismatch-free nonlinear propagation in optical zero-index materials.

Phase matching is a critical requirement for coherent nonlinear optical processes such as frequency conversion and parametric amplification. Phase mismatch prevents microscopic nonlinear sources from combining constructively, resulting in destructive interference and thus very low efficiency. We report the experimental demonstration of phase mismatch-free nonlinear generation in a zero-index optical metamaterial. In contrast to phase mismatch compensation techniques required in conventional nonlinear media, the zero index eliminates the need for phase matching, allowing efficient nonlinear generation in both forward and backward directions. We demonstrate phase mismatch-free nonlinear generation using intrapulse four-wave mixing, where we observed a forward-to-backward nonlinear emission ratio close to unity. The removal of phase matching in nonlinear optical metamaterials may lead to applications such as multidirectional frequency conversion and entangled photon generation.

Generation of linear and nonlinear nonparaxial accelerating beams.

We study linear and nonlinear self-accelerating beams propagating along circular trajectories beyond the paraxial approximation. Such nonparaxial accelerating beams are exact solutions of the Helmholtz equation, preserving their shapes during propagation even under nonlinearity. We generate experimentally and observe directly these large-angle bending beams in colloidal suspensions of polystyrene nanoparticles.

Reverse optical forces in negative index dielectric waveguide arrays.

Nonconservative optical forces acting on dipolar particles are considered in longitudinally invariant optical fields. We demonstrate that the orientation of these forces is strictly dictated by the propagation vector associated with such field configurations. As a direct consequence of this, it is impossible to achieve a reversal of optical forces in homogeneous media. We show instead that translation invariant optical tractor fields can in fact be generated in the negative index environment produced in a special class of fully dielectric waveguide arrays.

Superresolution via enhanced evanescent tunneling.

We here propose the concept of enhanced evanescent tunneling (EET). Our analysis indicates that by means of a suitable control field, the transmission of evanescent waves across a forbidden gap can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude-well beyond the ordinary frustrated total internal reflection case. We show how such a phenomenon can be used to probe both the amplitude and phase of the evanescent portion of the angular spectrum, thereby allowing target superresolution. In principle EET can be manifested in other areas of physics where wave tunneling is involved.

Airy plasmon: a nondiffracting surface wave.

We introduce a new class of nondiffracting surface plasmonic wave: the Airy plasmon. The propagation properties of such a field configuration are unique among the family of surface waves and could lead to interesting applications in plasmonic energy routing. The self-bending and self-healing behavior of these solutions is discussed. Schemes for experimental realization and potential applications are proposed.

Negative index Clarricoats-Waldron waveguides for terahertz and far infrared applications.

We explore a class of dielectrically loaded metallic waveguides capable of supporting negative index modes in the far infrared and terahertz regime. Principles of operation, modal structure and appropriate coupling schemes are analytically and numerically investigated. The extreme simplicity of the proposed design, along with the non-conventional and counter intuitive electromagnetic properties of this family of waveguides, makes these structures excellent candidates for the practical realization of negative index far infrared and terahertz devices with new and interesting functionalities. Generalizations and extensions of the suggested design are also discussed.

Coupling of optical lumped nanocircuit elements and effects of substrates.

We present here an analytical quasi-static circuit model for the coupling among small nanoparticles excited by an optical electric field in the framework of the optical lumped nanocircuit theory [N. Engheta, A. Salandrino, and A. Alù, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 095504 (2005)]. We derive how coupling effects may affect the corresponding nanocircuit model by adding lumped controlled sources that depend on the optical voltages applied on the coupled particles as coupled lumped elements. With the same technique, we may model the presence of a substrate located underneath the nanocircuit elements, relating its presence to the coupling with a properly modeled image nanoparticle. These results are of importance in the understanding and the design of complex optical nanocircuits at infrared and optical frequencies.