Theory of scanning near-field magnetooptical microscopy

An analytical theory of scanning near-field magnetooptical microscopy is developed. The theory is based on the elastic scattering of light by small, resonantly polarizable particles, which are used to scan the plane surface of a nonuniformly magnetized medium. The effective polarizability of the particles is calculated with the effect of dynamic “image forces” taken into account in all orders of perturbation theory with respect to the interaction of the particle with a demagnetized ferromagnet, and the magnetooptical perturbation is calculated to first order in the magnetization. The major contributions to the magnetooptical light scattering for a ferromagnetic structure magnetized perpendicular to the surface are found, including a quasistatic approximation for the near-field particle-magnet interaction. The optical size resolution of a magnetic (dielectric) inhomogeneity is estimated. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 86–91 (July 1998)     

Optical characterization of synthetic opals

The results of a structural-optical characterization of synthetic opals are presented. Information on the growth-induced features of the opal structure was derived from an analysis of the position and width of the one-dimensional photonic band gap. The structure of the samples was found to vary substantially along the growth axis coinciding with the [111] direction of the fcc lattice. It was shown that the regions corresponding to early stages in the opal structure growth are typically strongly disordered, which manifests itself, in particular, in the crystallites being misoriented relative to the sample growth axis. It was concluded that the regions of synthetic opals most suitable for application as photonic crystals are those corresponding to later growth stages.     

Vibrational frequency shifts in the stretched polypropylene molecule

The GF matrix method is used to compute the changes in the skeletal vibration frequencies for a simplified model of isotactic polypropylene stretched by a loadf. The series of frequencies obtained atf=0 are identified with those experimentally observed. A linear approximation is used for the deformation potential energy atf=0–2·10^–4 dyneperchain. The results of the calculations are presented in graph form.A. F. Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 586–594, July–August, 1968.     

Mechanics of the static tension of a through chain in amorphous crystalline polymers

The displacements and tensions of the points on a through chain lying inside one crystallite of an oriented amorphous crystalline polymer are analyzed theoretically for various degrees of withdrawal of the chain from the crystallite. The tension of the chain in the amorphous region is examined as a function of its contour length and the length of the amorphous region. The nature and efficiency of the stoppers (obstacles) retaining the through chain inside the crystallites are considered. Specific results are calculated for polyethylene and polypropylene.A. F. Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 771–778, September–October, 1973.     

Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy of metal nanoclusters formed on semiconductor surface

Optical anisotropy of indium nanoclusters formed on the (001) surface of indium arsenide was found by differential reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy. The fact of such an observation for nanocluster arrays unambiguously evidences the presence of their macroscopic anisotropy which could not be disclosed by conventional diagnostics techniques. The scale of the observed plasmonic anisotropy signal exceeds by two orders of magnitude the scale of anisotropy signals from valence-bond structures formed on a semiconductor surface. A resonant feature observed in reflectance anisotropy spectra is interpreted in the model of coupled dipole plasmons belonging to ellipsoidal nanoparticles. Estimation based on the experimental spectra shows that within the sample surface the lengths of ellipsoid semiaxes differ from each other by a few percent.     

Near-field magneto-optics and microscopy in resonant scattering of light from a linear nanoprobe

A theory is presented for the polar near-field magneto-optical Kerr effect in scattering of light from a linear nanoprobe. In the framework of Green’s function technique, a solution is obtained for the problem of near-field magneto-optics and apertureless scanning microscopy of lateral magnetic inhomogeneities (domains) with nanometer scale. The probe in the form of a nanowire and the sample with a near-surface magnetic nanolayer are considered to support surface plasmons. Electromagnetic coupling between a nanow-ire and a sample surface (polarizability of the complex “probe plus image charges”) is taken into account self-consistently. Magneto-induced polarization of an ultrathin near-surface layer is treated within linear approximation in magnetization which is perpendicular to the layer. The polarization, spectral and angular characteristics of light scattering modulated by magnetization and resonantly enhanced by surface plasmons are examined. Dependence of the near-field magneto-optical response on the probe-domain distance along the sample surface is obtained. The resolution power of scanning near-field microscopy is estimated and the factors to influence it are pointed out.     

Complex interaction of polarized light with three-dimensional opal-based photonic crystals: Diffraction and transmission studies

Polarization characteristics of light interaction with the photonic crystal of a-SiO₂ synthetic opals were studied under the conditions of low dielectric contrast. We analyzed 3D diffraction patterns of monochromatic light and calculated optical transmission spectra of oriented samples. The diffraction patterns are found to change with the polarization of incident light, indicating a strong polarization dependence of photonic stop bands in synthetic opals. It is shown theoretically there exists a critical angle, θ_c, of the p-polarized light incident on the (h k l) crystal plane, at which the resonance contribution to Bragg diffraction vanishes.     

Plasmon-excitonic polaritons in superlattices

Physics of the Solid State - A theory for propagation of polaritons in superlattices with resonant plasmon-exciton coupling is presented. A periodical superlattice consists of a finite number of...     

Exciton polaritons and their one-dimensional localization in disordered quantum-well structures

A theory of the Anderson localization of light in randomly arranged ultrathin layers (quantum wells) uniform in lateral dimensions and possessing intrinsic optical resonances is put forward. To solve the multiple-scattering problem, a model of layers with a δ-function resonance dielectric polarization is proposed. The model is an electromagnetic counterpart of the electronic model of zero-radius potentials. Interlayer disorder is included under the assumption of a low average concentration of identical layers in order to calculate analytically the one-and two-photon characteristics of electromagnetic-radiation transport, in particular, the average energy density and the Anderson localization length of light. The analysis is carried out for a structure with randomly distributed quantum wells in which quasi-two-dimensional excitons of different quantum wells are in resonance while their wave functions do not overlap. It is shown that the average electromagnetic field propagates through this disordered structure in the form of polaritons but are produced in exciton reemission between quantum wells. The localization length of light in the polariton spectral region decreases substantially, because the scattering (reflection) of light by individual quantum wells grows near the excitonic resonance.     

Importance of considering all the degrees of freedom in analyzing the deformations of a polymer chain

The problem of the elastic variation of all the degrees of freedom of a plane zigzag chain of the composition (-CR₂-)_n in axial tension is formulated in the homogeneous deformation approximation. The deformations of the internal coordinates and the modulus of elasticity of the polyethylene chain are the subject of a numerical calculation.