Plasmonic quasicrystals with broadband transmission enhancement

Inverse design assisted coherent optical lattices

We explore the use of inverse design methods for the generation of periodic optical patterns in photonic integrated circuits. A carefully selected objective function based on the integer lattice method, which is an algebraic technique for optical lattice generation, is shown to be key for successful device design. Furthermore, we present a polychromatic pattern generating device that switches between optical lattices with different symmetry and periodicity depending on the operating wavelength. Important links are drawn between optical coherent lattices and optical potentials, pointing towards practical applications in the fields of quantum simulations and computing, optical trapping, and bio-sensing.

Shear based gap control in 2D photonic quasicrystals of dielectric cylinders

2D dielectric photonic quasicrystals can be designed to show isotropic band gaps. In this work we study a quasiperiodic lattice made of silicon dielectric cylinders (ɛ = 12) arranged as periodic unit cell based on a decagonal approximant of a quasiperiodic Penrose lattice. We analyze the bulk properties of the resulting lattice as well as the bright states excited in the gap, which correspond to localized resonances of the electromagnetic field in specific cylinder clusters of the lattice. Then we introduce a controlled shear deformation γ which breaks the decagonal symmetry and evaluate the width reduction of the gap together with the evolution of the resonances, for all shear values compatible with physical constraints (cylinder contact). The gap width reduction reaches 18.5% while different states change their frequency in several ways. Realistic analysis of the actual transmission of the electromagnetic radiation, often missing in the literature, has been performed for a finite "slice" of the proposed quasicrystals structure. Two calculation procedures based on MIT Photonic Bands (MPB) and Finite Integration Technique (FIT) are used for the bulk and the finite structures showing an excellent agreement between them.

Colloidal quantum dots lasing and coupling in 2D holographic photonic quasicrystals

Global research on the solution-processable colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) constitutes outstanding model systems in nanoscience, micro-lasers, and optoelectronic devices due to tunable color, low cost, and wet chemical processing. The two-dimensional (2D) CQDs quasicrystal lasers are more efficient in providing coherent lasing due to radiation feedback, high-quality-factor optical mode, and long-range rotational symmetry. Here, we have fabricated a 2D quasicrystal exhibiting 10-fold rotational symmetry by using a specially design pentagonal prism in the optical setup of a simple and low-cost holographic lithography. We developed a general analytical model based on the cavity coupling effect, which can be used to explain the underlying mechanism responsible for the multi-wavelength lasing in the fabricated 2D CQDs holographic photonic quasicrystal. The multi-wavelength surface-emitting lasers such as λ₀ = 629.27 nm, λ₁ = 629.85 nm, λ_-1 = 629.06 nm, λ₂ = 630.17 nm, and λ_-2 = 628.76 with a coupling constant κ = 0.38 achieved from the 2D holographic photonic quasicrystal are approximately similar with the developed analytical model based on cavity coupling effect. Moreover, the lasing patterns of the 2D CQDs photonic quasicrystal laser exhibit a symmetrical polarization effect by rotating the axis of polarization with a difference of 120⁰ angle in a round trip. We expect that our findings will provide a new approach to customize the 2D CQDs holographic photonic quasicrystal lasers in the field of optoelectronic devices and miniature lasing systems.

Revival and Expansion of the Theory of Coherent Lattices

An effective way to design structured coherent wave interference patterns that builds on the theory of coherent lattices, is presented. The technique combines prime number factorization in the complex plane with moiré theory to provide a robust way to design structured patterns with variable spacing of intensity maxima. In addition, the proposed theoretical framework facilitates an elegant computation of previously unexplored high-order superlattices both for the periodic and quasiperiodic case. A number of beam configurations highlighting prime examples of patterns for lattices with three-, four-, and fivefold symmetry are verified in a multibeam interference experiment.

Dodecagonal plasmonic quasicrystals for phage-based biosensing

In this work, we fabricate and characterize a novel sensitive two-dimensional surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate made of plasmonic nanocavities in a photonic quasicrystal arrangement characterized by a 12-fold rotational symmetry. Our SERS device is capable of detecting chemisorbed bacteriophages at a femtomolar range. Most importantly, the paper presents for the first time a study on the procedure to functionalize the plasmonic quasicrystal with bacteriophages of the Podoviridae family. The immobilization of the phages on the plasmonic substrate has been studied and verified through SERS measurements. A new stable peak, visible in the SERS spectra at 1326 cm^-1 at a greater than 60 times amplification, confirms the immobilization of the phages on the substrate. This functionalization approach can be used also for other types of phages or plasmonic sensors and hence, our achievements could allow the development of novel systems for the specific detection of different species of bacteria.

Holographic fabrication of graded photonic super-quasi-crystals with multiple-level gradients

Photonic quasi-crystals and photonic crystals with certain degrees of disorder can have a broadband light-matter interaction. In this paper, we present the holographic fabrication of graded photonic super-quasi-crystals through pixel-by-pixel phase pattern engineering using a spatial light modulator. Using the same phase pattern arranged in a decagon, we have fabricated graded photonic super-quasi-crystals with five-fold symmetry and multiple levels of gradients and graded photonic super-crystals with rectangular unit super-cells, depending on the Fourier filter. Although a certain degree of disorder was incorporated in the quasi-crystals, we still observed the golden ratio in the diameters of the diffraction rings of the fabricated quasi-crystals, indicating five-fold symmetry. Using direct pixel-by-pixel phase engineering, the same laser projection system, consisting of an integrated spatial light modulator and a reflective optical element, can be used for the fabrication of graded photonic super-crystals with various symmetries. The multi-level gradient effects on the optical properties of an organic light-emitting diode were simulated. When the cathode of an organic light-emitting device is patterned in the graded photonic super-crystals, a light extraction efficiency up to 76% in the visible range can be achieved.

Extraordinary Effects in Quasi-Periodic Gold Nanocavities: Enhanced Transmission and Polarization Control of Cavity Modes

Plasmonic quasi-periodic structures are well-known to exhibit several surprising phenomena with respect to their periodic counterparts, due to their long-range order and higher rotational symmetry. Thanks to their specific geometrical arrangement, plasmonic quasi-crystals offer unique possibilities in tailoring the coupling and propagation of surface plasmons through their lattice, a scenario in which a plethora of fascinating phenomena can take place. In this paper we investigate the extraordinary transmission phenomenon occurring in specifically patterned Thue-Morse nanocavities, demonstrating noticeable enhanced transmission, directly revealed by near-field optical experiments, performed by means of a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM). SNOM further provides an intuitive picture of confined plasmon modes inside the nanocavities and confirms that localization of plasmon modes is based on size and depth of nanocavities, while cross talk between close cavities via propagating plasmons holds the polarization response of patterned quasi-crystals. Our performed numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Thus, the control on cavity size and incident polarization can be used to alter the intensity and spatial properties of confined cavity modes in such structures, which can be exploited in order to design a plasmonic device with customized optical properties and desired functionalities, to be used for several applications in quantum plasmonics.

Design of Non-Deterministic Quasi-random Nanophotonic Structures Using Fourier Space Representations

Despite their seemingly random appearances in the real space, quasi-random nanophotonic structures exhibit distinct structural correlations and have been widely utilized for effective photon management. However, current design approaches mainly rely on the deterministic representations consisting two-dimensional (2D) discretized patterns in the real space. They fail to capture the inherent non-deterministic characteristic of the quasi-random structures and inevitably result in a large design dimensionality. Here, we report a new design approach that employs the one-dimensional (1D) spectral density function (SDF) as the unique representation of non-deterministic quasi-random structures in the Fourier space with greatly reduced design dimensionality. One 1D SDF representation can be used to generate infinite sets of real space structures in 2D with equally optimized performance, which was further validated experimentally using light-trapping structures in a thin film absorber as a model system. The optimized non-deterministic quasi-random nanostructures improve the broadband absorption by 225% over the unpatterned cell.

Two-port connecting-layer-based sandwiched grating by a polarization-independent design

In this paper, a two-port connecting-layer-based sandwiched beam splitter grating with polarization-independent property is reported and designed. Such the grating can separate the transmission polarized light into two diffraction orders with equal energies, which can realize the nearly 50/50 output with good uniformity. For the given wavelength of 800 nm and period of 780 nm, a simplified modal method can design a optimal duty cycle and the estimation value of the grating depth can be calculated based on it. In order to obtain the precise grating parameters, a rigorous coupled-wave analysis can be employed to optimize grating parameters by seeking for the precise grating depth and the thickness of connecting layer. Based on the optimized design, a high-efficiency two-port output grating with the wideband performances can be gained. Even more important, diffraction efficiencies are calculated by using two analytical methods, which are proved to be coincided well with each other. Therefore, the grating is significant for practical optical photonic element in engineering.

Broadband multiple responses of surface modes in quasicrystalline plasmonic structure

We numerically study the multiple excitation of surface modes in 2D photonic quasicrystal/metal/substrate structure. An improved rigorous coupled wave analysis method that can handle the quasicrystalline structure is presented. The quasicrystalline lattice, which refers to Penrose tiling in this paper, is generated by the cut-and-project method. The normal incidence spectrum presents a broadband multiple responses property. We find that the phase matching condition determines the excitation frequency for a given incident angle, while the depth of the reflection valley depends on the incident polarization. The modes will split into several sub-modes at oblique incidence, which give rise to the appearance of more responses on the spectrum.

Binary coded patterns for photon control using necklace problem concept

Pseudo-disordered structures enable additional design freedom for photon management. However, the optimization and interpretation is challenging when the large number of degrees of freedom encounters computationally intensive electromagnetic simulation method. Here we propose a novel one-dimensional multi-periodic pattern generation method to help us squeeze the disorder design space before performing rigorous calculation, by making use of the periodic attribute of the pattern. Consequently, thanks to the pre-filtered design space, it typically relieves us from computational burden and enables us to 'globally' optimize and study pseudo-disordered patterns. As an example, we show how this approach can be used to comprehensively optimize and systematically analyze generated disorder for broadband light trapping in thin film.

Moiré Nanosphere Lithography

We have developed moiré nanosphere lithography (M-NSL), which incorporates in-plane rotation between neighboring monolayers, to extend the patterning capability of conventional nanosphere lithography (NSL). NSL, which uses self-assembled layers of monodisperse micro/nanospheres as masks, is a low-cost, scalable nanofabrication technique and has been widely employed to fabricate various nanoparticle arrays. Combination with dry etching and/or angled deposition has greatly enriched the family of nanoparticles NSL can yield. In this work, we introduce a variant of this technique, which uses sequential stacking of polystyrene nanosphere monolayers to form a bilayer crystal instead of conventional spontaneous self-assembly. Sequential stacking leads to the formation of moiré patterns other than the usually observed thermodynamically stable configurations. Subsequent O2 plasma etching results in a variety of complex nanostructures. Using the etched moiré patterns as masks, we have fabricated complementary gold nanostructures and studied their optical properties. We believe this facile technique provides a strategy to fabricate complex nanostructures or metasurfaces.