Optical phase front control in a metallic grating with equally spaced alternately tapered slits

A technique capable of focusing and bending electromagnetic （EM） waves through plasmonic gratings with equally spaced alternately tapered slits has been introduced. Phase resonances are observed in the optical response of transmission gratings, and the EM wave passes through the tuning slits in the form of surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） and obtains the required phase retardation to focus at the focal plane. The bending effect is achieved by constructing an asymmetric phase front which results from the tapered slits and gradient refractive index （GRIN） distribution of the dielectric material. Rigorous electromagnetic analysis by using the two-dimensional （2D） finite difference time domain （FDTD） method is employed to verify our proposed designs. When the EM waves are incident at an angle on the optical axis, the beam splitting effect can also be achieved. These index-modulated slits are demonstrated to have unique advantages in beam manipulation compared with the width-modulated ones. In combination with previous studies, it is expected that our results could lead to the realization of ootimum designs for plasmonic nanolenses.     

介质填充型二次柱面等离激元透镜的亚波长聚焦

本文提出了一种亚波长聚焦的表面等离激元透镜,该透镜由二氧化硅填充金膜纳米狭缝阵列组成,金膜的出射表面为二次柱面.表面等离激元在狭缝入口处激发并沿狭缝传输,在狭缝出口转变为带有一定相位延迟的自由空间传播的光波.通过对透镜结构参数的控制,可以调节来自各狭缝的光波间的相对相位,使它们在设定的焦点处进行相长干涉,从而实现聚焦效果.本文用时域有限差分法数值计算了二次柱面等离激元透镜的聚焦特性.数值模拟结果表明,所设计的孔径为2μm的透镜,能够实现微米级焦距和焦深、且焦斑半高宽低至0.4倍波长的亚波长聚焦.该表面等离激元透镜结构简单紧凑、尺寸小,有利于光子器件的集成,在集成光学、光学微操纵、超分辩率成像、光存储、生化传感等相关领域有潜在的应用价值.     

Beam bending through compound structure with two subwavelength metallic slits in each period

To provide a more practical, easy-to-implement method to achieve directional modulation with a plasmonic lens, beam manipulation method via compound metallic gratings with two subwavelength slits filled with different dielectrics inside each period is proposed and numerically investigated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Compared with conventional metal-grating based structures, phase retardation is tuned by the Fabry-Pérot (FP) resonant condition and light bending is achieved by constructing a carefully designed, curved phase front for the plasmonic lenses. Our designs have advantages in ease of fabrication and capability to perform in the far field. With these advantages, the designs are expected to be valuable in applications such as plasmonic circuits and photonic communication.     

Plasmonic planar lens based on stack of metal–insulator–metal waveguides with height tuning

We introduce a technique capable of focusing electromagnetic (EM) waves through plasmonic nanoslits symmetrically arranged along the indented semi-circular surface in silver background. The EM transports through the tuning slits in the form of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), and gets the required phase retardations to focus at the focal plane. Due to the subwavelength nature of planar metallic lens, we present the rigorous electromagnetic analysis by using two dimensional (2D) finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. These height-modulated slits with uniform width are demonstrated to have unique advantages in beam manipulation. In combination with previous studies, it is expected that our structure with small number of slits could lead to realization of optimum designs of plasmonic nano-lens.     

Beam focusing from double subwavelength metallic slits filled with nonlinear material surrounded by dielectric surface gratings

Based on the radiation properties of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) can be controlled by adjusting the refractive indexes of dielectric materials in the metallic slits, a novel plasmonic focusing structure formed by two subwavelength metal apertures filled with Kerr nonlinear material surrounded by surface dielectric gratings is proposed and demonstrated numerically. Directions of radiation fields are determined by the phase difference of the surface waves at the exit interface and resonance property of each surface grating. Numerical simulations using two-dimensional (2D) Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method verify that the deflection angle and focal length can be controlled easily by changing the intensity of incident light, dynamically tunable on-axis and off-axis focusing effects can be achieved.     

Ultra-elongated depth of focus of plasmonic lenses with concentric elliptical slits under Gaussian beam illumination

In this paper, we discuss the influence of ratio of minor to major axis on the propagation property and focusing performance of a plasmonic lens with variant periodic concentric elliptical slits illuminating under a Gaussian beam. In order to analyse the influence theoretically, a finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） numerical algorithm is adopted for the computational numerical calculation and the design of the plasmonic structure. The structure is flanked with penetrated slits through a 200-nm metal film （Au） which is coated on a quartz substrate. Tunability of focusing capability of the plasmonic lenses is studied by tailoring the ratio. Our calculation results demonstrate that the ratio of the elliptical slits greatly affects the focusing capability of the lense. The plasmonic lenses with concentric elliptical slits illuminating under a Gaussian beam have ultra-elongated depth of focus. These results are very encouraging for the future study of the plasmonic lens-based applications.     

Focusing performance of small f-number metallic lens with depth-modulated slits

This paper studies a small f-number metallic lens with depth-modulated slits.Slits filled with dielectric between silver plates are designed to produce desired optical phase retardations based on the particular propagation properties of surface plasmon polaritons in nanostructures.Numerical simulation of this structure is performed through the finitedifference time-domain method.Different from the conventional dielectric lens,the metallic lens can be used as a pure phase element without energy loss brought by the light refraction at curved surfaces and total internal reflection.The focusing performance is consequently improved,with larger diffraction efficiency than that of the same shaped dielectric lens.     

Focusing surface plasmon polariton wave packets in space and time

The spatiotemporal focusing of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) wave packets (WPs) by planar plasmonic‐lens coupling structures is described using combined femtosecond interferometric time‐resolved photoemission electron microscopy (ITR‐PEEM) imaging and model simulations. The focusing properties of lens structures inscribed lithographically into Ag films depend on the angle of incidence of the excitation field. Severe aberrations are introduced by the phase delay in the interaction of obliquely incident plane waves with the commonly employed circular arc‐shaped lens structures. It is shown that the aberration can be corrected by accounting for propagation delays caused by the incidence angle‐dependent retardation of the optical field‐lens structure interaction. The focusing of SPP‐WPs in both space and time is demonstrated with aberration corrected lens structures.     

Modulation of Splitting Beam Angle with Metal--Nonlinear Optical Material--Metal (M-NL-M) Array Structure

We demonstrate active manipulating plasmonic signals with metal--nonlinear optical material--metal (M-NL-M) arrays consisting of slits with variant widths. The parameters of the M-NL-M array structure are derived by theoretical analysis of dispersion relationship. The splitting angle can be modulated by the incident light intensity, and verified by a nonlinear two-dimensional finite difference time domain method. The physical principle of this phenomenon is analysed from the phase of surface plasmon polaritons and Fabry--Pérot (F-P) resonance in slits     

Phase modulation of output light by planar metallic-dielectric array with electro-optical material

A structure of active planar metallic-dielectric array is proposed to manipulate the propagation of light beam by tuning the phase of output light. The dielectric in the array is set as an electro-optical material so that the refractive index can be changed by applied voltage based on the electro-optical effect. While the light propagates through the array, the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are excited and the waveguide modes with variant propagation constants are formed in the dielectric regions to provide desired phase retardations. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is used to numerically simulate the tunable phase characteristic of output light. The results show that, by adjusting the applied voltage on the dielectric regions, the angle compensation and beam focusing phenomena can be easily implemented, and the tunability of focal length is investigated in detail as an example. It is helpful for the design of actively-controlled plasmonic devices.     

Estimation of field intensity distribution and its wavelength dependence in a flat focusing nanolens

The application of surface plasmonic effects in engineering of a wavelength-tunable silver nanolens for the beam focusing is considered. Its design includes flat nanoslits for phase and amplitude modulation of light beams. Initially its operation has been checked for light beams with a wavelength of about 1.3 µm by observing the variance in the focal point distance with respect to alterations in structural parameters, such as the metal thickness, slit width, and pitch. The near-field intensity with respect to deviation in the focal point and deflection from the mean power for an optical 100-nm window is estimated for other popular optical communication wavelengths (0.85 and 1.55 µm) using the finite-difference timedomain method with boundary conditions for anisotropic, perfectly matched layers. The novelty in the proposed lens is its capability to function satisfactorily for a tolerance range of ±2.5% in the design parameters for the wavelengths under consideration.     

Principle and design approach of flat nano-metallic surface plasmonic lens

The principle of a flat nano-metallic surface plasmonic lens is analyzed based on phase matching and effective refractive index theory. The complex relationships between the macro-parameters such as focal length with other design freedoms, e.g. material properties of the lens, sheet thickness, slit width, and slit pitch, are disclosed as well. A set of tailored formulae are derived for the design of such a nano-metallic surface plasmonic lens. Several simplified implementations of the nano-metallic lens such as a lens with equidistant slits but bearing different widths, and a lens with equal slit widths but different pitches are given. The performance of the beyond-diffraction-limit focusing effect is given as well. PACS 02.60.Cb; 78.20.Ci; 71.36.+c; 78.68.+m     

Electrical beam steering with metal-anisotropic-metal structure

In this numerical study, we present and demonstrate a compact, electrical plasmonic beam-steering device composed of anisotropic material. The splitting angle can be modulated by the external electric or magnetic field. The physical principle of this phenomenon is evaluated from the phase of surface plasmon polaritons and Fabry-Perot (F-P) resonance in slits. Our numerical simulations with finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique reveals that wide-angle (±27°) beam steering can be achieved. Moreover, the efficiency increases when increasing the steering angle. A special characteristic of the presented structure gives an opportunity to be used as an efficient element in a high integrated optical device for miniaturization and tuning purposes.     

Beam focusing through a tapered subwavelength aperture surrounded by dielectric surface gratings

A novel plasmonic nanolens formed by a tapered subwavelength metal slit surrounded by surface dielectric gratings is proposed and demonstrated numerically. By patterning surface corrugations on the output surface, the beam can be focused, by regulating the aperture, the focal length can be controlled effectively. Numerical simulations using Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method coupled with anisotropic perfectly matched layer (APML) boundary conditions verify that the proposed metallic lens can focus the radiation on the scale of a wavelength below the substrate and the method is effective for the design of nano-optical devices such as optical microprobes.     

Plasmonic nano‐slits assisted polarization selective detour phase meta‐hologram

Traditional detour‐phase hologram is a powerful optical device for manipulating phase and amplitude of light, but it is usually not sensitive to the polarization of light. By introducing the light‐metasurface interaction mechanism to the traditional detour phase hologram, we design a novel plasmonic nano‐slits assisted polarization selective detour phase meta‐hologram, which has attractive advantages of polarization multiplexing ability, broadband response, and ultra‐compact size. The meta‐hologram relies on the dislocations of plasmonic slits to achieve arbitrary phase distributions, showing strong polarization selectivity to incident light due to the plasmonic response of deep‐subwavelength slits. To verify its polarization sensitive and broadband responses, we experimentally demonstrate two holographic patterns of an optical vortex and an Airy beam at p‐ and s‐polarized light with wavelengths of 532nm, 633nm and 780nm, respectively. Furthermore, we realize an application example of the meta‐hologram as a polarization multiplexed photonic device for multi‐channel optical angular momentum (OAM) generation and detection. Such meta‐holograms could find widespread applications in photonics, such as chip‐level beam shaping and high‐capacity OAM communication.

     

Optical method of determination of stress at a point

A method of determining stress at a point is suggested here. The effect of bending of a wave front that is due to variations of the refractive index is used to measure different aspects of stresses. A Fourier lens with a cross slit at its front focal plane is used to form interference fringes at planes near its back focal plane. The sample, illuminated by a plane-parallel coherent beam of light, is placed close to a cross slit, and the change in fringe pattern due to axial shift of the spectrum planes of the slits is measured to relate it to the state of stress.     

Generation and near-field imaging of Airy surface plasmons

We demonstrate experimentally the generation and near-field imaging of nondiffracting surface waves, plasmonic Airy beams, propagating on the surface of a gold metal film. The Airy plasmons are excited by an engineered nanoscale phase grating, and demonstrate significant beam bending over their propagation. We show that the observed Airy plasmons exhibit self-healing properties, suggesting novel applications in plasmonic circuitry and surface optical manipulation.     

径向偏振光下的长焦、紧聚焦表面等离子体激元透镜

表面等离子体激元透镜(plasmonic lens, PL)是一种通过激发和操控表面等离子体激元 (SPPs), 突破衍射极限, 实现亚波长紧聚焦的纳米光子器件. 如何实现高效率的紧聚焦及调控, 一直是研究PL的重点. 如果选取电矢量沿径向振动的径向偏振光作为PL的入射光, 可从各个方向激发SPPs, 提高紧聚焦的能量效率. 本文提出了一种在径向偏振光激发下的长焦深、长焦距、亚波长紧聚焦的表面等离子体激元透镜, 该透镜由中心T 形微孔、阶梯形同心环和同心环结构组成. 本文首先利用有限元方法数值分析了中心微孔-同心环结构透镜的聚焦特性, 结果显示径向偏振光由底部入射可高效激发SPPs, 并且中心微孔透射光与散射至自由空间的SPPs由于多光束干涉形成了紧聚焦. 为进一步压缩焦斑、增加焦距、加深焦深、改善透镜聚焦特性, 本文引入中心T形微孔-阶梯形同心环结构, 从而对阶梯表面的SPPs同时提供了相位调制和传播方向的控制. 经过参数优化, 该透镜结构实现了光斑焦深、半高宽、焦距分别是入射光波长的2.5倍、0.388 倍、3.22倍的亚波长紧聚焦; 而且该透镜具有结构紧凑、尺寸小、易于集成的优点, 满足了纳米光子学对于器件微型化和高度集成化的要求. 该研究结果在纳米光子集成、近场光学成像与探测、纳米光刻等相关领域具有潜在的应用价值.     

基于空间光调制器的光束大角度扫描技术研究

为实现一束激光在90°锥形范围内的扫描,利用液晶空间光调制器在光束偏转控制时精度高、无机械惯性等优点,研究并建立了基于液晶空间光调制器的光束偏转和角放大光路系统。提出了空间光调制器的可编程相位调制算法和角放大光路结构,推导了空间光调制器光束偏转角度与相位灰度驱动图的关系,设计了角度放大倍率高于22倍的角放大光路系统。在此基础上,建立了光束扫描控制实验系统,对该装置角度出射范围进行了测量,将实际的角放大倍率与设计值进行对比。实验结果表明:研制系统的出射视场角可达91.22°,并可通过畸变校正实现出射视场角范围内的规则形状扫描。该研究在光束敏捷控制、无线激光通信、目标搜索与追踪等领域具有重要的研究价值和应用前景。     

玻璃基底Wolter-1型X射线聚焦镜研制及测试

Wolter-1型X射线聚焦镜可将掠入射的X射线反射至焦平面处,具有较强的成像探测能力,在天文探测等领域中具有重要作用.通过建立几何模型对反射镜面及反射光线方程进行理论计算,推导出了适用于以玻璃为基底材料的聚焦镜设计参数方程,可用于对此类聚焦镜进行理论设计,依据理论设计,采用具有极高表面光洁度的超薄肖特D263T玻璃经热弯成型后作为反射镜基底,在反射镜表面制备金属铱薄膜作为反射膜研制了Wolter-1型反射镜组,并使用激光三维扫描仪对所研制的聚焦镜片面型进行了测试.测试结果显示,实际镜片面型与理想镜片面型公差在10 μm以内的测试点占总测试点的50%.通过搭建可见光条件下的焦斑测试系统,使用图像采集相机采集焦斑的灰度图像,通过图像分析软件分析计算该灰度图像的灰度分布来定量分析焦斑的能量分布情况,从而确定焦斑特性参数.实验结果显示：研制出的聚焦镜片焦距为1.6 m,焦斑的半能量包围直径为0.33 mm,对应角分辨率为0.7角分.