Optical binding forces between plasmonic nanocubes：A numerical study based on discrete-dipole approximation

Plasmonic nanocubes are ideal candidates in realizing controllable reflectance surfaces, unidirectional nanoantennas and other plasmon-associated applications. In this work, we perform full-wave calculations of the optical forces in threedimensional gold nanocube dimers. For a fixed center-to-center separation, the rotation of the plasmonic nanocube leads to a slight shift of the plasmonic resonance wavelength and a strong change in the optical binding forces. The effective gap and the near field distribution between the two nanocubes are shown to be crucial to this force variation. We further find that the optical binding force is dominated by the scattering process while the optical forces in the wavevector direction are affected by both scattering and absorption, making the former relatively more sensitive to the rotation of(an effective gap between) the nanocubes. Our results would be useful for building all-optically controllable meta-surfaces.     

Stable Fano-like plasmonic resonance: its impact on the reversal of far-and near-field optical binding force

Even for a 100 nm interparticle distance or a small change in particle shape,optical Fano-like plasmonic resonance mode usually vanishes completely.It would be remarkable if stable Fano-like resonance could somehow be achieved in distinctly shaped nanoparticles for more than 1μm interparticle distance,which corresponds to the far electromagnetic field region.If such far-field Fano-like plasmonic resonance can be achieved,controlling the reversal of the far-field binding force can be attained,like the currently reported reversals for near-field cases.In this work,we have proposed an optical set-up to achieve such a robust and stable Fano-like plasmonic resonance,and comparatively studied its remarkable impact on controlling the reversal of near-and far-field optical binding forces.In our proposed set-up,the distinctly shaped plasmonic tetramers are half immersed(i.e.air-benzene)in an inhomogeneous dielectric interface and illuminated by?circular?polarized light.We have demonstrated significant differences between near-and far-field optical binding forces along with the Lorentz force field,which partially depends on the object’s shape.A clear connection is shown between the far-field binding force and the resonant modes,along with a generic mechanism to achieve controllable Fano-like plasmonic resonance and the reversal of the optical binding force in both far-and near-field configurations.     

New design of triplexer based on metal–insulator–metal plasmonic ring resonators

In this work, we propose a new design of all-optical triplexer based on of metal–insulator–metal（MIM） plasmonic waveguide structures and ring resonators. By adjusting the radii of ring resonators and the gap distance, certain wavelengths can be filtered out and the crosstalk of each channel can also be reduced. The numerical results show that the proposed MIM plasmonic waveguide structure can really function as an optical triplexer with respect to the three wavelengths, that is, 1310, 1490, and 1550 nm, respectively. It can be widely used as the fiber access network element for multiplexer–demultiplexer wavelength selective in fiber-to-the-home communication systems with transmission efficiency higher than 90%. It can also be a potential key component in the applications of the biosensing systems.     

Theoretical Study on the Capillary Force between an Atomic Force Microscope Tip and a Nanoparticle

Considering that capillary force is one of the most important forces between nanoparticles and atomic force microscope （AFM） tips in ambient atmosphere, we develop an analytic approach on the capillary force between an AFM tip and a nanoparticle. The results show that the capillary forces are considerably affected by the geometry of the AFM tip, the humidity of the environment, the vertical distance between the AFM tip and the nanoparticle, as well as the contact angles of the meniscus with an AFM tip and a nanoparticle. It is found that the sharper the AFM tip, the smaller the capillary force. The analyses and results are expected to be helpful for the quantitative imaging and manipulating of nanoparticles by AFMs.     

Experimental investigation on wake profile detection based on laser scattering by bubbles

The optical system for detecting wake profiles based on laser backscattering by bubbles at 180°is reported, in which the monostatic optical geometry is adopted and the power density estimation is used to process bubble scattering signal.The profiles of wakes produced by a two-blade propeller with a diameter of 46 mm at 6000 and 8000 rpm are measured using this system.It is shown that the wake region can be identified,the wake with different shapes can be distinguished,and the fine structure within wakes can be detected.Also,the repeatability of the results is tested experimentally.Results show the feasibility of this system in wake profile detection.     

Tunable ultra-wideband terahertz filter based on three-dimensional arrays of H-shaped plasmonic crystalsTunable ultra-wideband terahertz filter based on three-dimensional arrays of H-shaped plasmonic crystalsTunable ultra-wideband terahertz filter based on three-dimensional arrays of H-shaped plasmonic crystals

A face-to-face system of double-layer three-dimensional arrays of H-shaped plasmonic crystals is proposed, and its transmission and filtering properties are investigated in the terahertz regime. Simulation results show that our design has excellent filtering properties. It has an ultra-wide bandgap and passband with steep band-edges, and the transmittance of the passband and the forbidden band are very close to I and 0, respectively. As the distance between the two face-to-face plates increases, the resonance frequency exhibits a gradual blueshift from 0.88 THz to 1.30 THz. Therefore, we can dynamically control the bandwidths of bandgap and passband by adding a piezoelectric ceramic plate between the two crystal plates. Furthermore, the dispersion relations of modes and electric field distributions are presented to analyze the generation mechanisms of bandgaps and to explain the location of bandgaps and the frequency shift phenomenon. Due to the fact that our design can provide many resonant modes, the bandwidth of the bandgaps can be greatly broadened. This paper can serve as a valuable reference for the design of terahertz functional devices and three-dimensional terahertz metamaterials.     

Quantum-Confinement Effects on Binding Energies and Optical Properties of Excitons in Quantum Dots

Quantum-confinement effects on the binding energy and the linear optical susceptibility of excitons in quantum dots are studied. It is found that the binding energy and the linear optical susceptibility are sensitive to the barrier height and the dot size. For an infinite barrier, the binding energy of excitons decreases monotonically with the increasing dot radius, and the dbsorption intensity has almost the same amplitude with the increasing photon energy. For a finite barrier, the binding energy has a maximum value with the increasing dot radius, and the absorption intensity damps rapidly with the increasing photon energy. The effective mass ratio is also found to have an influence on the binding energy. The results could be confirmed by future experiments on excitons in quantum dots.     

Optimal beam diameter for lateral optical forces on microspheres at a water-air interface

Optical tweezers with a low numerical aperture microscope objective is used to manipulate the microspheres at the water-air interface. In this letter, we determine the optimal optical trap for the lateral manipulation of microspheres at a water-air interface. The experimental results show that the trapping force is influenced by the expansion of the trapping beam at the back aperture of the objective. The optimal filling ratio of 0.65 is suggested for lateral optical manipulation at the water-air interface. The lateral trapping forces at the water-air interface are theoretically investigated with the ray-optics model. The numerical results show that the lateral trapping forces can be changed by shrinking the diameter of the trapping laser beam. The numerical results are in accordance with the experimental results.     

Chiral plasmonic nanostructure of twistedly stacked nanogaps

Nanogap plasmonic structures with strong coupling between separated components have different responses to orthogonal-polarized light, giving rise to giant optical chirality. Here, we proposed a three-dimensional(3D) nanostructure that consists of two vertically and twistedly aligned nanogaps, showing the hybridized charge distribution within 3D structures.It is discovered that the structure twisted by 60° exhibits plasmonic coupling behavior with/without gap modes for different circular-polarized plane waves, showing giant chiral response of 60% at the wavelength of 1550 nm. By controlling the disk radius and the insulator layer, the circular dichroism signal can be further tuned between 1538 and 1626 nm.     

Design and numerical analysis for low birefringence silica on silicon waveguides

A new fabrication technology for three-dimensionally buried silica on silicon optical waveguide based on deep etching and thermal oxidation is presented. Using this method, a silicon layer is left at the side of waveguide. The stress distribution and effective refractive index are calculated by using finite element method and finite different beam propagation method, respectively. The results indicate that the stress of silica on silicon optical waveguide fabricated by this method can be matched in parallel and vertical directions and stress birefringence can be effectively reduced due to the side-silicon layer.     

Optical switching based on the manipulation of microparticles in a colloidal liquid using strong scattering force

This paper demonstrates the realization of an optical switch by optically manipulating a large number of polystyrene spheres contained in a capillary.The strong scattering force exerted on polystyrene spheres with a large diameter of 4.3 μm is employed to realize the switching operation.A transparent window is opened for the signal light when the polystyrene spheres originally located at the beam centre are driven out of the beam region by the strong scattering force induced by the control light.The switching dynamics under different incident powers is investigated and compared with that observed in the optical switch based on the formation of optical matter.It is found that a large extinction ratio of ～ 30 dB and fast switching-on and switching-off times can be achieved in this type of switch.     

Depinning dynamics of driven colloids with random pinning： a numerical study

Using Langevin simulations, we have investigated numerically the depinning dynamics of driven two-dimensional colloids subject to the randomly distributed point-like pinning centres. With increasing strength of pinning, we find a crossover from elastic to plastic depinnings, accompanied by an order to disorder transition of state and a substantial increase in the depinning force. In the elastic regime, no peaks are found in the differential curves of the velocity－force dependence (VFD) and the transverse motion is almost none. In addition, the scaling relationship between velocity and force is found to be valid above depinning. However, when one enters the plastic regime, a peak appears in the differential curves of VFD and transverse diffusion occurs above depinning. Furthermore, history dependence is found in the plastic regime.     

Lower Exciton Number Strong Light Matter Interaction in Plasmonic Tweezers

The plasmonic nanocavity is an excellent platform for the study of light matter interaction within a sub-diffraction volume under ambient conditions.We design a structure of plasmonic tweezers,which can trap molecular Jaggregates and also serve as a plasmonic cavity with which to investigate strong light matter interaction.The optical response of the cavity is calculated via finite-difference time-domain methods,and the optical force is evaluated based on the Maxwell stress tensor method.With the help of the coupled oscillator model and virtual exciton theory,we investigate the strong coupling progress at the lower level of excitons,finding that a Rabi splitting of 230 meV can be obtained in a single exciton system.We further analyze the relationship between optical force and model volume in the coupling system.The proposed method offers a way to locate molecular J-aggregates in plasmonic tweezers for investigating optical force performance and strong light matter interaction.     

Temperature-insensitive fiber cantilever vibration sensor based on a fiber-to-fiber structure

A simple optical fiber cantilever vibration sensor consisting of two opposite aligned bare optical fibers sealed in a quartz capillary is presented.The fiber with the longer bare section is suspended in air and acts as a cantilever.By detecting the transmission power of the sensor directly,the environmental vibrational frequencies and amplitudes may be obtained.By adjusting the cantilever's natural deflection angle,the sensor can achieve high sensitivity,good response linearity,and a wide dynamic range.Coupling conditions are optimized to minimize temperature effects by simply setting an appropriate air gap between the bare fibers.     

Study of fiber-optic current sensing based on degree of polarization measurement

A novel fiber-optic current sensing scheme is proposed by converting the Faraday rotation to the optical signal's degree of polarization (DOP) change. In this scheme, the lightwave passes through a fiber resonant cavity multiply and experiences Faraday rotation simultaneously. Its main merit is immunity from the environment disturbance to the fiber used in ordinary Faraday rotation sensor. Brief theoretical analysis and simulation are given to show its basic characteristics. Experimental results are demonstrated and the feasibility of the proposed method is also shown.     

Optical fiber temperature sensor based on wavelength-dependent detection

Semiconductor fiber temperature sensors have been used widely in many fields, but most of them pick up temperature by measuring the optical intensity of certain fixed narrow-band in absorption spectrum. Furthermore,they are sensitive to the loss of optical intensity and the fluctuation of light source power. The novel temperature measurement system proposed in this paper is based on the semiconductor absorption theory and the spectral analysis of method.To measure temperature,the sensor model detects not the certain narrow-band spectrum but the most spectra of the optical absorption edge.Therefore the measurement accuracy and the stability can be improved greatly.Experimental results are in agreement with theoretical analysis results perfectly.     

Measurement of interaction force between RGD-peptide and Hela cell surface by optical tweezers

Since RGD peptides (R: arginine; G: glycine; D: aspartic acid) are found to promote cell adhesion, they are modified at numerous materials surface for medical applications such as drug delivery and regenerative medicine. Peptide-cell surface interactions play a key role in the above applications. In this letter, we study the adhesion force between the RGD-coated bead and Hela cell surface by optical tweezes. The adhesion is dominated by the binding of α5β1 and RGD-peptide with higher adhesion probability and stronger adhesion strength compared with the adhesion of bare bead and cell surface. The binding force for a single α5β1 -GRGDSP pair is determined to be 16.8 pN at a loading rate of 1.5 nN/s. The unstressed off-rate is 1.65 × 10-2s-1 and the distance of transition state for the rigid binding model is 3.0 nm.     

Manipulation of plasmonic wavefront and light–matter interaction in metallic nanostructures: A brief review

The control and application of surface plasmons （SPs）, is introduced with particular emphasis on the manipulation of the plasmonic wavefront and light-matter interaction in metallic nanostructures. We introduce a direct design methodology called the surface wave holography method and show that it can be readily employed for wave-front shaping of near-infrared light through a subwavelength hole, it can also be used for designing holographic plasmonic lenses for SPs with complex wavefronts in the visible band. We also discuss several issues of light-matter interaction in plasmonic nanostructures. We show theoretically that amplification of SPs can be achieved in metal nanoparticles incorporated with gain media, leading to a giant reduction of surface plasmon resonance linewidth and enhancement of local electric field intensity. We present an all-analytical semiclassical theory to evaluate spaser performance in a plasmonic nanocavity incorporated with gain media described by the four-level atomic model. We experimentally demonstrate amplified spontaneous emission of SP polaritons and their amplification at the interface between a silver film and a polymer film doped with dye molecules. We discuss various aspects of microscopic and macroscopic manipulation of fluorescent radiation from gold nanorod hybrid structures in a system of either a single nanoparticle or an aligned group of nanoparticles. The findings reported and reviewed here could help others explore various approaches and schemes to manipulate plasmonic wavefront and light-matter interaction in metallic nanostructures for potential applications, such as optical displays, information integration, and energy harvesting technologies.     

Metamaterials and plasmonics: From nanoparticles to nanoantenna arrays,metasurfaces, and metamaterials

The rise of plasmonic metamaterials in recent years has unveiled the possibility of revolutionizing the entire field of optics and photonics, challenging well-established technological limitations and paving the way to innovations at an unprecedented level To capitalize the disruptive potential of this rising field of science and technology, it is important to be able to combine the richness of optical phenomena enabled by nanoplasmonics in order to realize metamaterial components, devices, and systems of increasing complexity. Here, we review a few recent research directions in the field of plasmonic metamaterials, which may foster further advancements in this research area. We will discuss the anomalous scattering features enabled by plasmonic nanoparticles and nanoclusters, and show how they may represent the fundamental building blocks of complex nanophotonic architectures. Building on these concepts, advanced components can be designed and operated, such as optical nanoantennas and nanoantenna arrays, which, in turn, may be at the basis of metasurface devices and complex systems. Following this path, from basic phenomena to advanced functionalities, the field of plasmonic metamaterials offers the promise of an important scientific and technological impact, with applications spanning from medical diagnostics to clean energy and information processing.     

Measurement of Binding Force between Microtubule-Associated Protein and Microtubule

Microtubule-associated proteins （MAPs） are important proteins in cells. They can regulate the organization, dynamics and function of microtubules. We measure the binding force between microtubule and a new plant MAP, i.e. AtMAP65-1, by dual-optical tweezers. The force is obtained to be 14.6 ± 3.5 pN from the data statistics and analysis. This force measurement is helpful to understand the function and mechanism of MAPs from the mechanical point of view and lays the groundwork for future measurements of the mechanical properties of other biological macro-molecules.