Thin-film-lithium-niobate (TFLN) photonics has attracted intensive attention and become very popular in recent years. Here, an ultra-compact TFLN on-chip dispersion compensator is proposed and realized to provide a promising solution for dispersion control. The proposed dispersion compensator is composed of chirped multimode waveguide gratings (CMWGs) arranged in zigzag-cascade, enabling high footprint

We present a solution to a longstanding challenge in nanoplasmonics and colloid chemistry: the anomalous optical absorption of noble metal nanoparticles in the ultrafine size range of 2.5–10 nm, characterized by a rapid long-wavelength shift in plasmon resonance as the particle size increases. Our investigation delves into the impact of alterations in electron density along the radial direction of

High refractive index dielectric materials like silicon rich nitride (SRN) are critical for constructing advanced dielectric metasurfaces but are limited by transparency and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process compatibility. SRN’s refractive index can be adjusted by varying the silicon to nitride ratio, although this increases absorption, particularly in the blue spectrum. Dielectric

Topological structures reveal the hidden secrets and beauty in nature, such as the double helix in DNA, whilst, the manipulation of which in physical fields, especially in ultrafast structured light, draw booming attention. Here we introduce a new family of spatiotemporal light fields, i.e. helical pulses, carrying sophisticated double-helix singularities in its electromagnetic topological structures

Diffractive Neural Networks (DNNs) leverage the power of light to enhance computational performance in machine learning, offering a pathway to high-speed, low-energy, and large-scale neural information processing. However, most existing DNN architectures are optimized for single tasks and thus lack the flexibility required for the simultaneous execution of multiple tasks within a unified artificial

We report a transverse optical torque exerted on a conventional isotropic spherical particle in a direction perpendicular to that of the illuminating wave propagation. By using full-wave simulations and deriving an analytical expression of the transverse optical torque for particle of arbitrary size, the origin of this transverse optical torque is traced exclusively to the magnetic part of the spin

Non-Hermitian systems can be tuned to exhibit exceptional points, where both eigenvalues and eigenstates coalesce concurrently. The inherent adaptability of photonic non-Hermitian systems in configuring gain and loss has allowed us to observe a plethora of counterintuitive phenomena, largely as a consequence of the eigenspace reduction at these exceptional points. In this work, we propose a non-Hermitian

Recent research on non-Abelian phenomena has cast a new perspective on controlling light. In this work, we provide a simple and general approach to induce non-Abelian gauge field to tremble the light beam trajectory. With in-plane duality symmetry relaxed, our theoretical analysis finds that non-Abelian electric field can be synthesized through a simple real-space rotation of any biaxial material.

Structural colors, resulting from the interaction of light with nanostructured materials rather than pigments, present a promising avenue for diverse applications ranging from ink-free printing to optical anti-counterfeiting. Achieving structural colors with high purity and brightness over large areas and at low costs is beneficial for many practical applications, but still remains a challenge for

Valley photonic crystals (VPCs) provide an intriguing approach to suppress backscattering losses and enable robust transport of light against sharp bends, which could be utilized to realize low-loss and small-footprint devices for on-chip optical communications. However, there are few studies on how to achieve power-efficient tunable devices based on VPCs, which are essential for implementing basic

Efforts to harness quantum hardware relying on quantum mechanical principles have been steadily progressing. The search for novel material platforms that could spur the progress by providing new functionalities for solving the outstanding technological problems is however still active. Any physical property presenting two distinct energy states that can be found in a long-lived superposition state

Ultrafast all-optical control has been a subject of wide-spread attention as a method of manipulating optical fields using light excitation on extremely short time scales. As a fundamental form of ultrafast all-optical control, all-optical switching has achieved sub-picosecond switch speeds in the visible, infrared, and terahertz spectral regions. However, due to the lack of suitable materials, ultrafast

Flexible and diverse manipulation of electromagnetic (EM) waves in half space (reflection or transmission) has facilitated strong aspiration toward full-space wave control. However, it remains challenging to achieve independent amplitude and phase control, which seriously hinder the real-world applications. Herein, an innovative strategy of trifunctional metasurface is proposed to independently and

Optical logic gates based on nonlinear optical property of material with ultrafast response speed and excellent computational processing power can break the performance bottleneck of electronic transistors. As one of the layered 2D materials, Ta2NiS5 exhibits high anisotropic mobility, exotic electrical response, and intriguing optical properties. Due to the low-symmetrical crystal structures, it possesses

Discrete spatial solitons are self-consistent solutions of the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation that maintain their shape during propagation. Here we show, using a pump-probe technique, that soliton formation can be used to optically induce and control a linear topological end state in the bulk of a Su–Schrieffer–Heeger lattice, using evanescently-coupled waveguide arrays. Specifically, we observe

Direction of arrival (DoA) estimation is a key research focus in array signal processing, and numerous progressive direction-finding algorithms have already been developed. In terms of the development of algorithms, metasurfaces can help innovate traditional estimation algorithms as an excellent alternative to phased arrays. New types of artificial intelligence continue to impact traditional algorithms

Solid-state quantum emitters (QE) can produce single photons required for quantum information processing. However, their emission properties often exhibit poor directivity and polarisation definition resulting in considerable loss of generated photons. Here we propose and numerically evaluate Mie metasurface designs for outcoupling photons from an embedded and randomly-positioned QE. These Mie metasurface

Singularity in a two-point complex coherence function, known as coherence vortices, represents zero visibility with a helical phase structure. In this paper, we introduce a novel technique to generate the coherence vortices of different topological charges by incoherent source transmittance with exotic structured binary pinholes. The binary pinhole structures have been realized by lithography, followed

This study presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a wide field-of-view (FOV) metalens optimized for capsule endoscopy. The metalens achieved a 165° FOV with a high modulation transfer function (MTF) of 300 lines per millimeter (lp/mm) across the entire FOV, operating in the near-infrared (NIR) narrow-bandpass imaging at 940 nm. The performance of the metalens-based system is evaluated

Metasurfaces have recently gained significant attention due to the strong capacity in light field manipulation. However, most traditional metasurfaces are fabricated on rigid substrates, which fix their functionality after fabrication and limit their applications in dynamic measurement fields. In this work, we designed and fabricated a silver metasurface embedded in a stretchable substrate for sensing

Non-local metasurface supporting geometric phases at bound states in the continuum (BIC) simultaneously enables sharp spectral resonances and spatial wavefront shaping, thus providing a diversified optical platform for multifunctional devices. However, a static nonlocal metasurface cannot manipulate multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs), making it difficult to achieve multifunctional integration and be

Metasurfaces, consisting of arrays of subwavelength structures, are lightweight and compact while being capable of implementing the functions of traditional bulky optical components. Furthermore, they have the potential to significantly improve complex optical systems in terms of space and cost, as they can simultaneously implement multiple functions. The wafer-scale mass production method based on

The ability of surface polaritons (SPs) to enhance and manipulate light fields down to deep-subwavelength length scales enables applications in optical sensing and nonlinear optics at the nanoscale. However, the wavelength mismatch between light and SPs prevents direct optical excitation of surface-bound modes, thereby limiting the widespread development of SP-based photonics. Free electrons are a

The technological requirements of low-power and high-fidelity color displays have been instrumental in driving research into advanced coloration technologies. At the forefront of these developments is the implementation of dye-free approaches, which overcome previous constraints related to color resolution and fading. Resonant dielectric nanostructures have emerged as a promising paradigm, showing

Atomic magnetometers (AMs) that use alkali vapors, such as rubidium, are among the most sensitive sensors for magnetic field measurement. They commonly use polarization differential detection to mitigate common-mode noise. Nevertheless, traditional differential detection optics, including polarization beam splitters (PBS) and half-wave plates, are typically bulky and large, which restricts further

Semiconductor nanowires can enhance the signal of fluorescent molecules, thus significantly improving the limits of fluorescence detection in optical biosensing. In this work, we explore how the sensitivity can further be enhanced through “digital” detection of adequately spaced vertically aligned nanowires, employing single-emitter localization methods, and bright-field microscopy. Additionally, we

Beam-steered infrared (IR) light communication has gained tremendous attention as one of the solutions of congested wireless communication traffic. High performance active beam-steering devices play a crucial role in data allocation and exchange. Conventional beam-steering devices such as spatial light modulator (SLM) and micro-electrical mechanical system (MEMS) mirror and the current emerging nonmechanical

B-centers in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are gaining significant research interest for quantum photonics applications due to precise emitter positioning and highly reproducible emission wavelengths at 436 nm. Here, we leverage the layered nature of hBN to directly measure the quantum efficiency (QE) of single B-centers. The defects were engineered in a 35 nm flake of hBN using electron beam irradiation

As a noninvasive and label-free optical technique, Raman spectroscopy offers significant advantages in studying the structure and properties of biomacromolecules, as well as real-time changes in cellular molecular structure. However, its practical applications are hindered by weak scattering responses, low signal intensity, and poor spectral uniformity, which affect the subsequent accuracy of spectral

Emerging miniaturized atomic sensors such as optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) have attracted widespread interest due to their application in high-spatial-resolution biomagnetism imaging. While optical probing systems in conventional OPMs require bulk optical devices including linear polarizers and lenses for polarization conversion and wavefront shaping, which are challenging for chip-scale integration

Structured beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) provide powerful capabilities for applications in optical tweezers, super-resolution imaging, quantum optics, and ad-vanced microparticle manipulation. However, it is challenging for generate and control the OAM beams at the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) region due to the lack of suitable wave front shaping optics arise from being limited to the

Nucleic acids (deoxyribonucleic acid – DNA and ribonucleic acid – RNA) are essential components of all living organisms, with DNA encoding genetic information and RNA facilitating vital biological processes. The detection of nucleic acids having a specific sequence is crucial for identifying organisms and diagnosing genetic diseases. Because surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is considered

This study reports on the fabrication of quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) with an ITO/Ni1−x Mg x O/SAM/TFB/QDs/ZnMgO/Al structure and investigates the effects of various Mg doping concentrations in NiO on device performance. By doping Mg into the inorganic hole-injection layer NiO (Ni1−x Mg x O), we improved the band alignment with the hole-injection layer through band tuning, which enhanced

Optical interconnects, leveraging surface plasmon modes, are revolutionizing high-performance computing and AI, overcoming the limitations of electrical interconnects in speed, energy efficiency, and miniaturization. These nanoscale photonic circuits integrate on-chip light manipulation and signal conversion, marking significant advancements in optoelectronics and data processing efficiency. Here,

Photonic funnels, microscale conical waveguides that have been recently realized in the mid-IR spectral range with the help of an all-semiconductor designer metal material platform, are promising devices for efficient coupling of light between the nanoscales and macroscales. Previous analyses of photonic funnels have focused on structures with highly conductive claddings. Here, we analyze the performance

Once light is coupled to a photonic chip, its efficient distribution in terms of power splitting throughout silicon photonic circuits is very crucial. We present two types of 1 × 4 power splitters with different splitting ratios of 1:1:1:1 and 2:1:1:2. Various taper configurations were compared and analyzed to find the suitable configuration for the power splitter, and among them, parabolic tapers

Efficient coupling between optical fibers and on-chip photonic waveguides has long been a crucial issue for photonic chips used in various applications. Edge couplers (ECs) based on an inverse taper have seen widespread utilization due to their intrinsic broadband operation. However, it still remains a big challenge to realize polarization-insensitive low-loss ECs working at the O-band (1,260–1,360

Asymmetric spin–orbit interaction (ASOI) breaks the limitations in conjugate symmetry of traditional geometric phase metasurfaces, bringing new opportunities for various applications such as spin-decoupled holography, imaging, and complex light field manipulation. Since anisotropy is a requirement for spin–orbit interactions, existing ASOI mainly relies on meta-atom with C1 and C2 symmetries, which

Advancements in computer science have propelled society into an era of data explosion, marked by a critical need for enhanced data transmission capacity, particularly in the realm of space-division multiplexing and demultiplexing devices for fiber communications. However, recently developed mode demultiplexers primarily focus on mode divisions within one dimension rather than multiple dimensions (i

The prospect of employing nanophotonic methods for controlling photon–electron interactions has ignited substantial interest within the particle accelerator community. Silicon-based integrated dielectric laser acceleration (DLA) has emerged as a viable option by leveraging localized photonic effects to emit, accelerate, and measure electron bunches using exclusively light. Here, using highly regular

Owing to its topological properties and band collapse, Floquet helical photonic lattices have gained increasing attention as a purely classical setting to realize the optical analogues of a wide variety of quantum phenomena. We demonstrate both theoretically and numerically that light propagation in an appropriately designed helical superlattice can exhibit spatial photonic Zitterbewegung effect, i

Mode converters (MCs) play an essential role in mode-division multiplexing (MDM) systems. Numerous schemes have been developed on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform, yet most of them focus solely on the conversion of fundamental mode to one or two specific higher-order modes. In this study, we introduce a hybrid shape optimization (HSO) method that combines particle swarm optimization (PSO) with

Due to signal shielding caused by building structures, conventional mature positioning technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) are only suitable for outdoor navigation and detection. However, there are many scenarios that urgently require high-precision indoor positioning technologies, such as indoor wireless optical communications (OWCs), navigation in large buildings, and warehouse

Spectroscopy is a technique that analyzes the interaction between matter and light as a function of wavelength. It is the most convenient method for obtaining qualitative and quantitative information about an unknown sample with reasonable accuracy. However, traditional spectroscopy is reliant on bulky and expensive spectrometers, while emerging applications of portable, low-cost and lightweight sensing

The design of optical materials in nonlinear devices represents a fundamental step for their optimization and miniaturization, that would significantly contribute to the progress of advanced nanophotonics and quantum technologies. In this work, the effect of geometry and composition of multilayer hyperbolic metamaterials on their third-order nonlinear optical properties, i.e. the optical Kerr effect

Achieving independent multitasked wavefront control by using an ultrathin plate is a challenge to increase information capacity in integration optics and radar applications. Transmission-reflection-integrated metasurface provides an efficient recipe primarily for multifunctional meta-device, however it is challenging to synergize both linear polarization (LP) and circular polarization (CP) using a

Optoelectronic synaptic devices have been regarded as the key component in constructing neuromorphic computing systems. However, the optoelectronic synapses based on conventional 2D transistor are still suffering low photosensitivity and volatile retention behavior, which can affect the recognition accuracy and long-term memory. Here, a novel optoelectronic synaptic device based on surface-state-rich

Hyperthermia plays a significant role in cancer treatment by inducing cell damage through temperature elevation, often used alongside other treatment modalities. During hyperthermia therapy, temperature control is crucial. Here, we report on a simple synthesis route of hybrid plasmonic nanodiamonds either completely wrapped with an Au shell (NV@Au) or densely covered with Au NPs (NV@SiO 2 @Au). Such

Non-destructive reference-free grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence (RF-GIXRF) is proposed as a highly effective analytical technique for extracting molecular arrangement density in self-assembled monolayers. The establishment of surface density standards through RF-GIXRF impacts various applications, from calibrating laboratory XRF setups to expanding its applicability in materials science, particularly

Upconversion luminescence (UCL) has great potential for highly sensitive biosensing due to its unique wavelength shift properties. The main limitation of UCL is its low quantum efficiency, which is typically compensated using low-noise detectors and high-intensity excitation. In this work, we demonstrate surface plasmon polariton (SPP)-enhanced UCL for biosensing applications. SPPs are excited by using

Achieving long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) cameras with high sensitivity and shorter exposure times faces challenges due to series reflections from high-refractive index lenses within compact optical systems. However, designing effective antireflective coatings to maximize light throughput in these systems is complicated by the limited range of transparent materials available for the LWIR. This scarcity

We add a missing element to the set of directly computable scenarios of light-matter-interaction within classical numerical Maxwell solvers, i.e., light scattering from hybrid systems of resonators and individual Fourier-limited emitters. In particular, individual emitters are incorporated as tiny polarizable and resonant spherical scatterers. This emitter model is based on well-known extremal properties

Strong light–matter interactions have received a lot of attention, for example in the pursuit of plasmonic-excitonic structures as coherent light sources with low-power threshold. In this study, we investigate the influence of room temperature strong coupling between surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) and excitons on fluorescence lifetimes and photobleaching effects. Our plasmonic-photonic structure

Fused silica with surface structures has potential applications in microfluidic, aerospace and other fields. To fabricate structures with high dimensional accuracy and surface quality is of paramount importance. However, it is indeed a challenge to strike a balance between accuracy and efficiency at the same time. Here, a temporally shaped femtosecond laser Bessel-beam-assisted etching method with

In the rapidly evolving field of plasmonic metasurfaces, achieving homogeneous, reliable, and reproducible fabrication of sub-5 nm dielectric nanogaps is a significant challenge. This article presents an advanced fabrication technology that addresses this issue, capable of realizing uniform and reliable vertical nanogap metasurfaces on a whole wafer of 100 mm diameter. By leveraging fast patterning

The performance of all active photonic devices today is greatly limited by loss. Here, we show that one can engineer a low loss path in a metal-clad lossy multi-mode waveguide while simultaneously achieving high-performance active photonic devices. We leverage non-Hermitian systems operating beyond the exceptional point to enable the redistribution of losses in a multi-mode photonic waveguide. Consequently

Multimode silicon photonics, leveraging mode-division multiplexing technologies, offers significant potential to increase capacity of large-scale multiprocessing systems for on-chip optical interconnects. These technologies have implications not only for telecom and datacom applications, but also for cutting-edge fields such as quantum and nonlinear photonics. Thus, the development of compact, low-loss

Flat-band periodic materials are characterized by a linear spectrum containing at least one band where the propagation constant remains nearly constant irrespective of the Bloch momentum across the Brillouin zone. These materials provide a unique platform for investigating phenomena related to light localization. Meantime, the interaction between flat-band physics and nonlinearity in continuous systems

Bound states in the continuum (BICs) have attracted much attention in the field of nanophotonics owing to their ability to trap photons without loss. Recently, a low-refractive-index (RI) waveguide loaded on a high-RI slab structure was demonstrated to support BICs. However, strict control of structural parameters is required due to the accidental nature of those BICs. Here, we propose a novel structure

Plasmonic nanoantennas with suitable far-field characteristics are of huge interest for utilization in optical wireless links, inter-/intrachip communications, LiDARs, and photonic integrated circuits due to their exceptional modal confinement. Despite its success in shaping robust antenna design theories in radio frequency and millimeter-wave regimes, conventional transmission line theory finds its