Research on the localized lightfield features of metallic nano-cone-tip optical antenna via investigating near-field lightwave and correlated net-charge distribution.

In this paper, the near-field lightwave characteristics of an arrayed silicon nano-cone-tip optical antenna (NOA) covered by a common metal film, which can be viewed as a featured quasi quantum dot (QD), are carefully investigated. A dipole net-charge distribution closely correlated with the surface lightwaves excited over the antennas by incident lasers with a central wavelength of 633 nm, is clearly observed. An obvious Coulomb-like blockade from the apex apparently influencing the net-charge converging over the surface of NOA, is verified, which can also be predicted by the simulations according to surface standing waves across the apex node. The antinodes of the surface net-charge instantaneous distribution are already pushed away from the normal location owing to the apex Coulomb-like blockade, so as to present a distorted waveform different from traditional standing wave modes. The tip proximity effect leading to a relatively weak net-charge converging over surrounding planar facet and adjacent NOAs, is also discovered.

Electrically addressed focal stack plenoptic camera based on a liquid-crystal microlens array for all-in-focus imaging.

Focal stack cameras are capable of capturing a stack of images focused at different spatial distance, which can be further integrated to present a depth of field (DoF) effect beyond the range restriction of conventional camera's optics. To date, all of the proposed focal stack cameras are essentially 2D imaging architecture to shape 2D focal stacks with several selected focal lengths corresponding to limited objective distance range. In this paper, a new type of electrically addressed focal stack plenoptic camera (EAFSPC) based on a functional liquid-crystal microlens array for all-in-focus imaging is proposed. As a 3D focal stack camera, a sequence of raw light-field images can be rapidly manipulated through rapidly shaping a 3D focal stack. The electrically addressed focal stack strategy relies on the electric tuning of the focal length of the liquid-crystal microlens array by efficiently selecting or adjusting or jumping the signal voltage applied over the microlenses. An algorithm based on the Laplacian operator is utilized to composite the electrically addressed focal stack leading to raw light-field images with an extended DoF and then the all-in-focus refocused images. The proposed strategy does not require any macroscopic movement of the optical apparatus, so as to thoroughly avoid the registration of different image sequence. Experiments demonstrate that the DoF of the refocused images can be significantly extended into the entire tomography depth of the EAFSPC, which means a significant step for an all-in-focus imaging based on the electrically controlled 3D focal stack. Moreover, the proposed approach also establishes a high correlation between the voltage signal and the depth of in-focus plane, so as to construct a technical basis for a new type of 3D light-field imaging with an obvious intelligent feature.

Orthogonal separation of arbitrary vector beams from non-polarized light waves based on a patterned liquid-crystal photo-alignment.

An effective method for orthogonally separating arbitrary vector polarized beams from non-polarized incident light waves is proposed in this Letter. A tunable patterned spatial distribution of liquid-crystal (LC) molecules can be effectively constructed based on both the initial photo-alignment and the electrically controlled birefringence of nematic LC materials. The LC photo-alignment over a smooth surface without any common nano-grooves leads to a highly efficient light-wave transformation by inducing a desired initial arrangement of LC directors and then acquiring extraordinary light waves with the needed, or even arbitrary, spatial polarization. The vector polarized beams can be highly converged according to a microhole-patterned electrode and a gradient refractive index distribution of the LC layer, which is driven and adjusted by an applied signal voltage. Due to the intrinsic polarization sensitivity of nematic LC materials, the formed gradient refractive index appearance only corresponds to extraordinary light waves. The proposed approach provides a way to achieve the orthogonal separation of arbitrary vector beams from non-polarized light waves. Moreover, it can be further utilized to generate and obtain arbitrary vector beams, as well as to perform adaptive light-beam convergence or even the focusing of arbitrary vector beams, which is expected to advance the development of vector beam generation and manipulation, thereby stimulating potential applications.

Lightwave nano-converging enhancement by an arrayed optical antenna based on metallic nano-cone-tips for CMOS imaging detection.

A kind of gold-coated glass nano-cone-tips (GGNCTs) is developed as an arrayed optical antenna for highly receiving and converging incident lightwaves. A local light field enhancement factor (LFEF) of ~ 2 × 104 and maximum light absorption of ~ 98% can be achieved. The near-field lightwave measurements at the wavelength of 633 nm show that the surface net charges over a single GGNCT make a typical dipole oscillation and the energy transmits along the wave vector orientation, thus leading to a strong local light field enhancement. An effective detection method by near-field coupling an arrayed GGNCT and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor for highly efficient imaging detection is proposed. The lightwave detection at several wavelengths, including typical 473 nm, 532 nm, 671 nm, and 980 nm, shows a notable characteristic that a better capability of the net charge distribution adjusting and localized aggregating can be obtained at the absorption peak of the GGNCT developed and a stronger signal detection achieved. The research lays a foundation for further developing a light detector with an ideal optoelectronic sensitivity and broad spectral suitability, which is based on integrating GGNCTs as an arrayed optical antenna with common sensors.

AI-2/Lux-S Quorum Sensing of Lactobacillus plantarum SS-128 Prolongs the Shelf Life of Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei): From Myofibril Simulation to Practical Application.

Retarding the protein deterioration of shrimp during storage is important for maintaining its quality. Lactobacillus plantarum SS-128 (L. plantarum SS-128) is a biocontrol bacterium that can effectively maintain the fresh quality of food. This research establishes a myofibril simulation system and refrigerated control system to explore the impact of L. plantarum SS-128 on the quality and shelf life of refrigerated shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Through the bacterial growth assay and AI-2 signal molecule measurement, the effect of the AI-2/LuxS quorum sensing (QS) system of L. plantarum SS-128 and shrimp spoilage bacteria was established. In the myofibril simulation system, a study on protein degradation (dimer tyrosine content, protein solubility, sulfhydryl content, and carbonyl content) showed that adding L. plantarum SS-128 effectively slowed protein degradation by inhibiting the growth of food pathogens. The application to refrigerated shrimp indicated that the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) value increased more slowly in the group with added L. plantarum SS-128, representing better quality. The total viable count (TVC) and pH results exhibited similar trends. This study provides theoretical support for the application of L. plantarum SS-128 in storing aquatic products.

Spatial separation of azimuthally and radially polarized beams from non-polarized light waves based on the electrically controlled birefringence effect.

Based on the electrically controlled birefringence effect in liquid crystal materials, an effective method for spatially separating azimuthally and radially polarized beams from non-polarized incident light waves is proposed. The radially polarized beam was highly converged by using a microhole-patterned electrode and a planar photo-alignment layer to shape the initial liquid-crystal radial alignment and a gradient refractive index distribution with central axial symmetry after applying a voltage signal. Due to the intrinsic polarization sensitivity of nematic liquid-crystal materials, the shaped gradient refractive index only applies to extraordinary light waves, which then converge into a spot. Thus, the azimuthally and radially polarized beams are effectively separated. The proposed method demonstrates some advantages, such as low cost, miniaturization, and easy fabrication and integration with other functional devices. Thanks to the wideband electrically controlled birefringence of liquid-crystal materials, this light-wave manipulation to spatially separate azimuthally and radially polarized beams can also be performed over a wide wavelength range.

All-In-Focus Polarimetric Imaging Based on an Integrated Plenoptic Camera with a Key Electrically Tunable LC Device.

In this paper, a prototyped plenoptic camera based on a key electrically tunable liquid-crystal (LC) device for all-in-focus polarimetric imaging is proposed. By using computer numerical control machining and 3D printing, the proposed imaging architecture can be integrated into a hand-held prototyped plenoptic camera so as to greatly improve the applicability for outdoor imaging measurements. Compared with previous square-period liquid-crystal microlens arrays (LCMLA), the utilized hexagonal-period LCMLA has remarkably increased the light utilization rate by ~15%. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed imaging approach can simultaneously realize both the plenoptic and polarimetric imaging without any macroscopic moving parts. With the depth-based rendering method, both the all-in-focus images and the all-in-focus degree of linear polarization (DoLP) images can be obtained efficiently. Due to the large depth-of-field advantage of plenoptic cameras, the proposed camera enables polarimetric imaging in a larger depth range than conventional 2D polarimetric cameras. Currently, the raw light field images with three polarization states including I0 and I60 and I120 can be captured by the proposed imaging architecture, with a switching time of several tens of milliseconds. Some local patterns which are selected as interested target features can be effectively suppressed or obviously enhanced by switching the polarization state mentioned. According to experiments, the visibility in scattering medium can also be apparently improved. It can be expected that the proposed polarimetric imaging approach will exhibit an excellent development potential.

Multiple-view D2NNs array: realizing robust 3D object recognition.

As an optical-based classifier of the physical neural network, the independent diffractive deep neural network (D2NN) can be utilized to learn the single-view spatial featured mapping between the input lightfields and the truth labels by preprocessing a large number of training samples. However, it is still not enough to approach or even reach a satisfactory classification accuracy on three-dimensional (3D) targets owing to already losing lots of effective lightfield information on other view fields. This Letter presents a multiple-view D2NNs array (MDA) scheme that provides a significant inference improvement compared with individual D2NN or Res-D2NN by constructing a different complementary mechanism and then merging all base learners of distinct views on an electronic computer. Furthermore, a robust multiple-view D2NNs array (r-MDA) framework is demonstrated to resist the redundant spatial features of invalid lightfields due to severe optical disturbances.