gevero

O. A. Makarova, M. Y. Shalaginov, S. Bogdanov, A. V. Kildishev, A. Boltasseva, V. M. Shalaev
Solid-state quantum emitters are prime candidates for the realization of fast, on-demand single-photon sources. The improvement in photon emission rate and collection efficiency for point-like emitters can be achieved by using a near-field coupling to nanophotonic structures. Plasmonic ... [Opt. Lett. 42, 3968-3971 (2017)]

Nanoscopic control and quantification of enantioselective optical forces

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 25 September 2017; doi:10.1038/nnano.2017.180

A plasmonic tweezer selectively attracts or repels enantiomers based on their handedness.

A synoptic view on the long-established theory of light propagation in crystalline dielectrics is presented, providing a new exact solution for the microscopic local electromagnetic field thus disclosing the role of the divergence-free (transversal) and curl-free (longitudinal) parts of the electromagnetic field inside a material as a function of the density of polarizable atoms. Our results enable fast and efficient calculation of the photonic bandstructure and also the (non-local) dielectric tensor, solely with the crystalline symmetry and atom-individual polarizabilities as input.

Resonantly enhanced Raman scattering in dielectric nanostructures has been recently proven to be an effcient tool for developing nanothermometry and experimental determination of their mode- composition. In this paper, we develop a rigorous analytical theory based on the Green's function approach to calculate the Raman emission from crystalline high-index dielectric nanoparticles. As an example, we consider silicon nanoparticles which have a strong Raman response due to active optical phonon modes. We relate enhancement of Raman signal emission to Purcell effect due to the excitation of Mie modes inside the nanoparticles. We also employ the numerical approach to the calculation of inelastic Raman emission in more sophisticated geometries, which do not allow a straightforward analytical form of the Green's function description. The Raman response from a silicon nanodisk has been analyzed within the proposed method, and the contribution of the various Mie modes has been revealed.

This document briefly introduces the key concepts to understand the phenomenon of fluorescence enhancement with optical nanostructures. The equations remain simple, with the major goal to illustrate the different physical effects at play. It also provides an overview of different recent approaches to enhance single molecule fluorescence with plasmonic and non-plasmonic nanoantennas, and describes three main biochemical applications.

Identified as a major biomarker for type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis, zinc transporter 8 autoantibody (ZnT8A) has shown promise for staging disease risk and disease diagnosis. However, existing assays for ZnT8 autoantibody (ZnT8A) are limited to detection by soluble domains of ZnT8, owing to difficulties in maintaining proper folding of...

Controlling light emission from quantum emitters has important applications ranging from solid-state lighting and displays to nanoscale single-photon sources. Optical antennas have emerged as promising tools to achieve such control right at the location of the emitter, without the need for bulky, external optics. Semiconductor nanoantennas are particularly practical for this purpose because simple geometries, such as wires and spheres, support multiple, degenerate optical resonances. Here, we start by modifying Mie scattering theory developed for plane wave illumination to describe scattering of dipole emission. We then use this theory and experiments to demonstrate several pathways to achieve control over the directionality, polarization state, and spectral emission that rely on a coherent coupling of an emitting dipole to optical resonances of a Si nanowire. A forward-to-backward ratio of 20 was demonstrated for the electric dipole emission at 680 nm from a monolayer MoS2 by optically coupling it to a Si nanowire.

Abstract

Nature Nanotechnology 12, 889 (2017). doi:10.1038/nnano.2017.126

Authors: Danqing Wang, Ankun Yang, Weijia Wang, Yi Hua, Richard D. Schaller, George C. Schatz & Teri W. Odom

Disordered dielectric materials with structural correlations show unconventional optical behavior: They can be transparent to long-wavelength radiation, while at the same time have isotropic band gaps in another frequency range. This phenomenon raises fundamental questions concerning photon transport through disordered media. While optical transparency in these materials is robust against...

Abstract

Optical quantum memories are essential elements in quantum networks for long distance distribution of quantum entanglement. Scalable development of quantum network nodes requires on-chip qubit storage functionality with control of its readout time. We demonstrate a high-fidelity nanophotonic quantum memory based on a mesoscopic neodymium ensemble coupled to a photonic crystal cavity. The nanocavity enables >95% spin polarization for efficient initialization of the atomic frequency comb memory, and time-bin-selective readout via enhanced optical Stark shift of the comb frequencies. Our solid-state memory is integrable with other chip-scale photon source and detector devices for multiplexed quantum and classical information processing at the network nodes.

Nature Photonics 11, 543 (2017). doi:10.1038/nphoton.2017.142

Authors: Mikhail F. Limonov, Mikhail V. Rybin, Alexander N. Poddubny & Yuri S. Kivshar

Nature Photonics 11, 532 (2017). doi:10.1038/nphoton.2017.155

Author: David Pile

Nature Photonics 11, 529 (2017). doi:10.1038/nphoton.2017.148

More than half a century after describing interference of discrete states with a continuum, Ugo Fano's work is as relevant as ever. And Fermi beat him to it.

Artificial intelligence: The future is superintelligent

Nature 548, 7669 (2017). doi:10.1038/548520a

Author: Stuart Russell

Stuart Russell weighs up a book on the risks and rewards of the AI revolution.

View from... SPP8: The rise of plasmonic metasurfaces

Nature Photonics, Published online: 1 August 2017; doi:10.1038/nphoton.2017.136

Ultrathin, versatile, integrated optical devices and high-speed optical information processing could be the upcoming real-world opportunities of plasmonic metasurfaces.

Author(s): F. Riboli, F. Uccheddu, G. Monaco, N. Caselli, F. Intonti, M. Gurioli, and S. E. Skipetrov

The frequency correlations of local density of states of a material are linked to its microscopic features.

[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 043902] Published Tue Jul 25, 2017

Overestimate of committed warming

Nature 547, 7662 (2017). doi:10.1038/nature22803

Authors: Gavin A. Schmidt, Jeff Severinghaus, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Richard B. Alley, Wallace Broecker, Ed Brook, David Etheridge, Kenji Kawamura, Ralph F. Keeling, Margaret Leinen, Kate Marvel & Thomas F. Stocker

Arising fromC. W.SnyderNature538, 226–228 (2016); doi:10.1038/nature19798Palaeoclimate variations are an essential component in constraining future projections of climate change as a function of increasing abundances of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. The Earth system sensitivity

We present a systematic comparison between guided modes supported by slab waveguides and Bloch Surface Waves (BSWs) propagating at the surface of truncated periodic multilayers. We show that, contrary to common belief, the best surface field enhancement achievable for guided modes in a slab waveguide is comparable to that observed for BSWs. At the same time, we demonstrate that, if one is interested in maximizing the electromagnetic energy density at a generic point of a dielectric planar structure, BSWs are often preferable to modes in which light is confined uniquely by total internal reflection. Since these results are wavelength independent and have been obtained by considering a very wide range of refractive indices of the structure constituent materials, we believe they can prove helpful in the design of future structures for the control and the enhancement of the light-matter interaction.

The exact suppression of backscattering from rotationally symmetric objects requires dual symmetric materials where ${\epsilon_r} = {\mu_r}$. This prevents their design at many frequency bands, including the optical one, because magnetic materials are not available. Electromagnetically small non-magnetic spheres of large permittivity offer an alternative. They can be tailored to exhibit balanced electric and magnetic dipole polarizabilities, which result in approximate zero backscattering. In this case, the effect is inherently narrowband. Here, we put forward a different alternative that allows broadband functionality: Electromagnetically large spheres made from low permittivity materials. The effect occurs in a parameter regime that approaches the trivial ${\epsilon_r} \to {\mu_r} =1$ case, where approximate duality is met in a weakly wavelength dependence fashion. Despite the low permittivity, the overall scattering response of the spheres is still significant. Radiation patterns from these spheres are shown to be highly directive across an octave spanning band. The effect is analytically and numerically shown using the Mie coefficients.