Mechanically Induced Anisotropic Fragments in Sn-Doped In2O3 Nanoparticle Films for Flexible Strain Sensing Based on Surface Plasmons.

Recently, mechanical strain sensors have been extensively developed to quantify large mechanical deformations for stretchable and wearable applications. In this study, we propose a plasmonic strain sensor based on the mechanical control of optical properties using an assembled film comprising In2O3: Sn nanoparticles (ITO NP film). The resonant reflectance in the infrared range could effectively be tuned by applying strain to the ITO NP film deposited on an elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sheet. The change in reflectance was caused by the mechanical deformation of the PDMS sheet. The operating mechanism of the proposed plasmonic strain sensor was related to anisotropic fragments induced by cracks formed perpendicular to the direction of the applied strain. These anisotropic fragments were functionalized as optical modulators to change the reflectance depending on the applied strain. The sensing performance of the proposed plasmonic strain sensor was evaluated by using a PDMS sheet with a circular hole that produced nonuniform stress distributions. Finally, to evaluate the flexible and wearable performance of the proposed sensor, the optical detection of human motion was performed by detecting joint-related movements. The optical detection of human motion could be achieved because a change in motion (e.g., bending and stretching of the index finger) was reversibly associated with reflectance changes. Therefore, this study provides new insights into plasmon-based strain sensing for various applications in flexible instruments and human motion detection.

Infrared Plasmonic Metamaterials Based on Transparent Nanoparticle Films of In2O3:Sn for Solar-Thermal Shielding Applications.

Three-dimensional nanoparticle (NP) assemblies show interesting optical responses that differ from naturally occurring materials, such as metals, oxides, and semiconductors. In this study, we investigate the optical response of thin films comprising Sn:In2O3 NPs (ITO NP films) based on the correlation between complex permittivity and infrared (IR) reflectance for solar-thermal shielding applications. IR ellipsometry measurements are conducted to clarify the presence of Lorentz resonances in plasmonic metamaterials. The Lorentz resonances are correlated to the electric field strength at interparticle gaps by varying the Sn dopant concentration, as confirmed using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. High solar-thermal shielding performance was obtained owing to selective near-IR reflection based on strong Lorentz resonances as the ITO NP films were electrically polarizable but magnetically inactive. Thermal shielding efficiency was demonstrated via a comparison of the air temperature change in a simulated box used as a model house. Additionally, we demonstrate the significance of NP packing density on the enhancement of the near-IR reflectance. The role of interparticle spacing for high near-IR reflectance was revealed by comparing effective medium approximation analyses and FDTD simulations. This relationship was also demonstrated by the reduction of solar-thermal shielding performance when using aggregated ITO NPs. Our work confirmed that the control of complex permittivity in plasmonic metamaterials must be considered in the structural design of transparent and reflective materials for solar-thermal shielding applications.

Silver-film subwavelength gratings for polarizers in the terahertz and mid-infrared regions.

Silver is proposed as a useful metal for thin metal-film subwavelength-grating polarizers in both the terahertz and mid-infrared regions. A triangular Ag-film grating for a terahertz-region polarizer fabricated on a resin substrate showed measured TE-wave losses of higher than 45 dB in the frequency range of 0.5-2.2 THz, while TM-wave losses were lower than 0.75 dB in the range of 0.5-3THz. A triangular double Ag-film grating structure on a thin silicon substrate with an anti-reflection layer on its reverse side was fabricated for the polarizer in the mid-infrared region. Measured TE-wave losses were higher than 27 dB in the wavelength range of 16-21 µm, while the minimum TM-wave loss was 3.5 dB at around the wavelength of 19 µm. Silver films are confirmed to be promising candidates for fabricating high-performance polarizers in the terahertz and mid-infrared regions.

Infrared polarizer employing multiple metal-film subwavelength gratings.

A multiple thin metal-film subwavelength grating is proposed for polarizers in the infrared wavelength region of 10-20 µm. The dependence of the transmission characteristics of the polarizers on structural parameters was obtained numerically, and the potential for high performance was confirmed experimentally. The measured TE-wave losses in a polarizer comprising a triangular triple Al-film grating are more than 45 and 35 dB for the wavelength ranges of 10-16 and 16-20 µm, respectively, while the net TM-wave losses are lower than 1.5 dB in the wavelength rage of 15-20 µm.

A two-port polarization-insensitive coupler module between single-mode fiber and silicon-wire waveguide.

A two-port polarization-insensitive single-mode fiber-silicon wire-waveguide coupler module, 5.3 × 3.4 × 0.7 mm(3) in size, is realized. The spot-size converter (SSC) involved utilizes a concatenated horizontal up-taper and vertical down-taper. Measured coupling losses between the fiber and the silicon-wire waveguide of the E(11)(y) and E(11)(x) modes of the SSC are 2.8 and 2.7 dB/port, respectively. The device platform is planar, robust, and easy to fabricate with conventional lithography.

Single-mode fiber with a plano-convex silicon microlens for an integrated butt-coupling scheme.

A single-mode fiber with plano-convex silicon microlens is proposed for butt-coupling between single-mode fibers and high-index-contrast waveguides with fine mode-field diameter. The lensed fiber has two specific features, high focusing power, and null working distance. The theoretical focus-spot diameter at the endface of the lensed fiber is calculated to be as small as 0.56 microm at a wavelength 1.55 microm. A simple fabrication method for the lensed fiber employing chemical etching and rf-sputtering is presented. Experiments showed that the mode-field-diameter of a single-mode fiber was successfully contracted from 10.5 to 1.3 microm with the lensed fiber.

Rugate filters fabricated by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering system by use of an optical in situ monitoring technique.

We propose, for the first time to our knowledge, a new feedback fabrication technique for rugate filters with sinusoidal refractive index distribution. The technique uses an in situ optical monitoring system, in contrast to conventional techniques for rugate filters that are based on time control, which is generally unsuitable for accurate fabrication of a continuous index distribution. We employed a-SiOx:H thin film as the material for the rugate filters because its refractive index can be successively controlled. Using the proposed technique and material, we fabricated near-infrared rugate minus filters having multiple and continuous refractive index distributions. The experimental and calculated spectra were well correlated as a result of applying the proposed feedback fabrication technique.

a-Si:H/SiO2 multilayer films fabricated by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering for optical filters.

We examined the optical properties of a-Si:H/SiO2 multilayer films fabricated by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering for optical bandpass filters (BPFs). Because of the high refractive-index contrast between a-Si:H and SiO2, the total number of layers of an a-Si:H/SiO2 multilayer can be relatively small. We obtained an a-Si:H refractive index of 3.6 at lambda = 1550 nm and its extinction coefficient k < 1 x 10(-4) and confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy that such small k is influenced by the Si-H bonding in the film. We fabricated a-Si:H/SiO2 BPFs by using in situ optical monitoring. Thermal tuning of a-Si:H/SiO2 BPF upon a silica substrate was also performed, and a thermal tunability coefficient of 0.07 nm/degree C was obtained.

Explicit formulas for transmission characteristics of graded-index oval core fibers.

Transmission characteristics of graded-index oval (GIO) core fibers are theoretically analyzed, and basic equations representing the specific properties of the fiber are obtained. Formulas for the propagation constant, the field-profile function, the cutoff condition, and the total number of guided modes are derived in explicit forms. The formula for the change of the Gaussian beam radius as a function of the propagation distance is also given, and the numerical example agrees well with experimental data and agrees completely with that obtained by the beam-propagation method. These explicit expressions are useful for finding optimum structural parameters of GIO fibers to be used in practical fields.

Variable-field aspect-ratio transformer with cascaded graded-index oval-core fibers.

A new configuration is proposed for continuously transforming aspect ratios of field-intensity distributions in optical fibers. The field aspect ratio varies in proportion to the angle between the principal axes of two cascaded graded-index oval-core fibers. The highest aspect-ratio conversion is obtained at an angle of 90 degrees. The conversion effect is numerically and experimentally confirmed, showing that a circular field is successfully transformed into an elliptical one with an aspect ratio as high as 9 at a wavelength of 0.98 microm.