Optimization‐free superoscillatory lens using phase and amplitude masks

A superoscillatory focusing lens has been experimentally demonstrated by optimizing Fresnel zone plates (FZP), with limited physical insight as to how the lens feature contributes to the focal formation. It is therefore imperative to establish a generalized viable account for both FZP (amplitude mask) and binary optics (phase mask). Arbitrary superoscillatory spots can now be customized and realized by a realistic optical device, without using optimization. It is counterintuitively found that high spatial frequency with small amplitude and destructive interference are favorable in superfocusing of a superoscillation pattern. The inevitably high sidelobe is pushed 15λ away from the central subwavelength spot, resulting in significantly enlarged field of view for viable imaging applications. This work therefore not only reveals the explicit physical role of any given metallic/dielectric rings but also provides an alternative design roadmap of superresolution imaging. The robust method is readily applicable in superthin longitudinally polarized needle light, quantum physics and information theory.     

Proposal and analysis of artificial dielectric lens with metallic corrugated structures for terahertz wave band

Optical devices for the terahertz wave band are being developed now and require better designs. This paper proposes an artificial dielectric lens with metallic corrugated structures for the terahertz wave band. A periodic analysis model extracted from the full model by assuming periodicity confirms the phase delay, which produces the focusing effect. Full model analysis also confirms the focusing effect. The full model analysis also confirms that the focusing length is longer as the spacing of corrugated baffles is wider. The focusing length is longer the metallic groove width is wider. The focusing length is longer as the groove depth is shallower. The lens shape without grooves does not produce the focusing effect. The results of the full model analysis are qualitatively consistent with those of the periodic model ones. This implies that the design for an exact size lens is possible by using the periodic model.     

Analysis and design of concave lens with metallic slit array for terahertz wave band

This paper presents a three-dimensional concave lens constructed from a metallic slit array. The effective refractive index is estimated to be $0<n<1$ . The actual lens requires spacers in the slits. A lens using a low loss dielectric material for the terahertz frequency band is designed. The fast wave effect is enhanced in order to mitigate the slow wave effect of the dielectric material. Full wave analysis results are obtained by ANSYS HFSS and the focusing effect of the three-dimensional concave lens is confirmed in the terahertz frequency band.     

In situ study of the metal–insulator transition in VO2 by EELS and ab initio calculations

Changes in the dielectric properties during the thermochromic transition of commercial VO₂ powders were determined in situ, by analyzing the low-loss region of the electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) spectra in a transmission electron microscope at room temperature (insulator phase) and 100 °C (metallic phase). A comparison of experimental EELS spectra and ab initio density-functional theory calculations (WIEN2k code) within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) is presented. A characteristic peak around 5.6 eV appears in the energy-loss function in metallic phase, which is absent in insulator phase. The origin of the characteristic peak is analyzed by means of energy-band structure calculations.     

Efros-Shklovskii law and localized states in weakly doped lanthanum manganites

The existence of clusters in weakly doped lanthanum manganites at temperatures about twice as high as their Curie temperature T _C has been shown. Electrical resistance in weakly doped lanthanum manganites obeys the Efros-Shklovskii law. The temperature and magnetic-field dependences of a cluster size determined from the magnetotransport properties have been described using the model of phase separation into small metallic droplets within the dielectric paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic matrices. The results agree with the existence of the Griffiths phase.     

Analysis of artificial dielectric lens with metallic rectangular chips for terahertz wave band and physical explanation by periodic model

Optical devices for the terahertz wave band are being developed now and require better designs. This paper analyzes an artificial dielectric lens with metallic rectangular chips for the terahertz wave band. This paper also provides an explanation of the phenomena by use of a periodic model. The periodic analysis model, extracted from the full one by assuming periodicity, confirms the phase delay as the mechanism that produces the focusing effect. Furthermore, the results of the full model confirm that the focusing length is longer with the larger periodicity of rectangular metal chips along the direction transverse to the propagation direction. It also indicates a nonuniform change for the periodicity along the propagation direction and the longer focusing length with narrower rectangular chips. The results of the full model analysis are qualitatively consistent with those of the periodic model one. This implies that the design for an exact size lens is possible through use of the periodic model.     

Formation of nanobumps and nanoholes in thin metal films by strongly focused nanosecond laser pulses

Nanobumps and nanoholes have been formed in gold and silver films with various thicknesses on a dielectric substrate by strongly focused single nanosecond pulses of a Nd:YAG laser. An apertureless dielectric fiber probe and an aspherical lens with a numerical aperture of 0.5 were used to focus laser radiation into a diffraction-limited spot on the surface of gold and silver films, respectively. Atomic force and electron microscopy studies have demonstrated that the shape and dimension of nanostructures, as well as the threshold parameters of laser radiation for their formation, are determined by the thickness of a modified film (“size effect”) and by the duration of a laser pulse owing to the lateral heat conduction in films (nonlocal energy deposition effect). Mechanisms of the dynamic formation of such structures in metallic films by nanosecond laser pulses due to phase transformations of their material have been discussed.     

Low frequency dielectric spectroscopy of the Peierls-Mott insulating state in the deuterated copper-DCNQI systems

We report a detailed characterization of an unique 3-fold commensurate insulating state in single crystals of the organic – inorganic d hybrid Cu(DMe-DCNQI)₂ systems with deuterated and partially deuterated DCNQI ring, by means of low-frequency dielectric spectroscopy. A broad relaxation mode of strength centred at kHz is observed in the hysteresis temperature region in which the insulating phase coexists with metallic islands. At lower temperatures, outside the nucleation range, the relaxation narrows, approaching a Debye-like form for an overdamped response of a system with a single degree of freedom. Both, the relaxation strength and the mean relaxation time () are much larger than that expected for single-particle excitations. These features suggest the origin of the dielectric relaxation as an intrinsic property of the N = 3 charge density wave state. Received 1 December 1999 and Received in final form 5 April 2000     

Directive metamaterial-based subwavelength resonant cavity antennas – Applications for beam steering

This article presents the use of composite resonant metamaterials for the design of highly directive subwavelength cavity antennas. These metamaterials, composed of planar metallic patterns periodically organized on dielectric substrates, exhibit frequency dispersive phase characteristics. Different models of metamaterial-based surfaces (metasurfaces), introducing a zero degree reflection phase shift to incident waves, are firstly studied where the bandwidth and operation frequency are predicted. These surfaces are then applied in a resonant Fabry–Perot type cavity and a ray optics analysis is used to design different models of ultra-compact high-gain microstrip printed antennas. Another surface presenting a variable reflection phase by the use of a non-periodic metamaterial-based metallic strips array is designed for a passive low-profile steering beam antenna application. Finally, the incorporation of active electronic components on the metasurfaces, allowing an electronic control of the phase responses, is applied to an operation frequency reconfigurable cavity and a beam steering cavity. All these cavity antennas operate on subwavelength modes, the smallest cavity thickness being of the order of λ/60. To cite this article: A. Ourir et al., C. R. Physique 10 (2009).     

Melting of metallic hydrogen at high pressures

The Lindemann equation was used to calculate the melting of metallic hydrogen. It is shown that, after transition from the molecular dielectric phase to the atomic metallic phase, hydrogen becomes a quantum liquid because of the atomic zero-point vibrations. The phase diagram of hydrogen is unique in that the molecular phase is the only solid phase of hydrogen.     

Influence of the lens effect in a sample with large dielectric constant in a loop-gap resonator on the EPR signal intensity at 700 MHz

The influence of the lens effect on the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal intensity was investigated in a loop-gap resonator (LGR) with an inner diameter of 41 mm. TheQ- value and EPR signal intensity were measured when the phantoms containing 3-carbamoyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-pyrrolidin-l-yloxy dissolved in sodium chloride aqueous solutions were put in the LGR. TheQ- value and signal intensity reduced with increasing concentrations of sodium chloride in the phantom, indicating that the imaginary part of the dielectric constant is larger in the phantom with the higher concentration of sodium chloride. However, relationships betweenQ-values of the resonator and EPR signal intensities were not proportional and signal intensities were relatively higher compared with theQ-values. These findings suggest that the signal reduction due to lowQ is slightly compensated by the lens effect in the sample with the large real part of the dielectric constant. In the distribution of the signal intensities of a pinpoint sample made of diphenylpicrylhydrazyl in the agar medium containing sodium chloride in the LGR, it was found that the signal intensity decreased according to the distance from the center and the difference in the signal intensity within 10 mm from the center was about 20%, indicating the inhomogeneity of the alternating magnetic field at the center and marginal region in the sample with the large dielectric constant caused by the lens effect.     

Phase retrieval of reflectance for nanoparticle optical identification

We present a method for optical identification of dielectric and metal nanoparticles in a liquid matrix using phase retrieval of reflectance with TE- and TM-polarized light. A formula is derived for extracting the effective complex dielectric function of a nanoparticle colloid based on different complex reflectance components. The phase retrieval is performed using the maximum entropy method. We observe excellent accuracy both for dielectric and metallic nanoparticles with volume fractions up to 10%.     

Broadband Terahertz Polarization Converter and Asymmetric Transmission Based on Coupled Dielectric‐Metal Grating

Coupled dielectric‐metal gratings are investigated for broadband terahertz (THz) wave polarization conversion and asymmetric transmission by the experiments and numerical simulations, which are composed of the subwavelength Si grating and metallic wire grating layers. The dielectric grating layer with a large artificial birefringence and low dispersion is employed as a phase engineered waveplate, and the metal wire grating arranged with a 45° angle to the dielectric grating is utilized as a high‐efficiency polarizer. Due to the subwavelength integration, this coupled grating presents a local resonance coupling mechanism between dielectric and metal gratings, which greatly enhances the polarization rotation and expands the bandwidth, not a simple combination with dielectric and metallic gratings. The results demonstrate that a broadband asymmetric transmission with an extinction ratio of 30dB from 0.2 to 1.2 THz is achieved and the highest transmission of 90% can be obtained. It provides a simple way towards practical applications for THz artificial dispersion materials, polarization control and asymmetric transmission.     

Coexistence of magnetic and ferroelectric properties in Y0.1Co1.9MnO4

The magnetic,conductivity,and dielectric properties have been investigated in single-phase polycrystalline Y0.1 Co1.9 MnO4.The temperature-dependent magnetisation reveals the ferromagnetic transition in sample at a low temperature (～186 K).Magnetisation as a function of field H (M-H loop) indicated the weak ferromagnetism of the sample at room temperature.The constant ε and dielectric loss tgδ measurements represent a ferroelectric phase transition at a higher temperature (～650 K),while the conductivity shows an insulator-metallic transition.The ferroelectric hysterisis loops and capacitance-voltage measurements confirm the ferroelectric nature of the sample at room temperature.The observed ferromagnetism and ferroelectric nature in this material suggests a potential multiferroic application.     

Variation of wave impedance of shielded suspended dielectric guide

A shielded suspended dielectric guide is a dielectric rectangular slab enclosed by regular metallic side walls from all the sides. This type of structure is used in dual mode phase shifter where the size of the normal rectangular wave guide is reduced at the ends, where a dielectric material is embeded in ferrite core. Hence impedance variation of a phase shifter at its transition may be easily calculated using shielded suspended dielectric guide which is a prime parameter for optimum efficiency of wave launching.     

Surface exciton modes for plane and spherical semiconductor-metal interfaces

An approximate method is developed for investigating the nature of interface exciton modes in a composite spatially dispersive medium. The method is general enough to be applicable to any composite system, in which each component is described by an arbitrary bulk dielectric functionε(q, ω). It is based on the extension of the usual electrostatic-image method of solving the Poisson’s equation, in the presence of an external point charge in the system. We have applied our general method to a composite system of a finite metal slab surrounded by a semiconductor on one side and the vacuum on the other side. Similarly, we have also considered the case of a metallic sphere of radiusR, surrounded by a semiconductor, with a spherical interface between them. With assumed spatially dispersive model dielectric functions for the bulk metal and the bulk semiconductor, the nature of the electron-electron interaction and the interface exciton modes in the metallic region are obtained in both the cases. For the relevant size of the metal large compared to the atomic dimensions over which the bulk dielectric functions are non-local due to the spatial dispersion, it is shown that one can obtain the interface exciton modes by first defining new effective dielectric functions for each of the media making the particular interface, and then using the usual expression which determines the modes in the non-dispersive case.     

Charge transfer and dielectric properties of granular nanocomposites Cox(LiNbO3)100 − x

The electrical and dielectric properties of thin-film heterogeneous nanostructures of Co_x(LiNbO₃)_{100 ? x} were studied in a wide concentration range of the metallic phase at room temperature. The percolation threshold characteristic of granular metal-dielectric systems was found. At low concentrations of the metallic phase, the concentration dependence of the permittivity is described by the Bruggeman formula. The conduction mechanism was found to change at low temperatures.     

Critical concentration for metallization of doped germanium and silicon

An elementary model for the metal-non metal transition in n-type Ge and Si is considered. The model is based on recent theoretical work on electron-hole droplets in illuminated semiconductors. The energy of the metallic phase is computed from experimentally known values of the conduction band effective masses and the background dielectric constant. The critical concentration is determined approximately by comparing the energy of the metallic phase with the energy of an isolated donor atom (a bound electron-impurity ion pair). The theoretical estimates of the critical concentration agree in order of magnitude with experiments. The trend in chemical shifts is reproduced.     

A simple design method of negative refractive index metamaterials

We propose a very simple design method of negative refractive index (NRI) materials that can overcome some drawbacks of conventional resonant-type NRI materials. The proposed NRI materials consist of single or double metallic patterns printed on a dielectric substrate. Our metamaterials (MTMs) show two properties that are different from other types of MTMs in obtaining effective negative values of permittivity (ε) and permeability (μ) simultaneously; the geometrical outlines of the metallic patterns are not confined within any specific shape, and the metallic patterns are printed on only one side of the dielectric substrate. Therefore, they are very easy to design and fabricate using common printed circuit board (PCB) technology according to the appropriate application. Excellent agreement between the experiment and prediction data ensures the validity of our design approach.     

Dispersion characteristics of broadside coupled dielectric image guide at millimeter wave frequencies

Dispersion characteristics and wave impedance for the even and odd modes of the broad side coupled dielectric image guides are computed by using mode matching techniques. Dispersion curves for broadside image guide are plotted for various dielectric materials and dimensional parameters as a function of frequency. Normalized electric field for dominant electric field component E of TM even and odd modes for various half spacings between two dielectric slabs of broadside coupled image guide have been plotted. Polysterene ( r=2.56) and Stycast ( r=3.4) have been used as dielectric materials in fabricating broadside coupled image guide. This broadside coupled dielectric guide is very convenient as compared to the other dielectric guides. Since in case of broadside coupled image guide the dielectric slab can be bonded to the side metallic walls using some low loss adhesive material, while in other coupled dielectric guides the dielectric slab have to be supported by some low dielectric constant material (Eccofoam with r=1.02) to maintain the proper distance of side metallic walls from the dielectric slab. Since this structure is symmetrical, this configuration can be analysed in terms of even and odd mode phase velocities. The difference in these even and off mode phase velocities can be used to determine the coupling between coupled dielectric slab. Various couplers in this configuration can be realised.