Plasmonic nanohole electrodes for active color tunable liquid crystal transmissive pixels

Smart Nematic Liquid Crystal Polymers for Micromachining Advances

The miniaturization of tools is an important step in human evolution to create faster devices as well as precise micromachines. Studies around this topic have allowed the creation of small-scale objects capable of a wide range of deformation to achieve complex tasks. Molecular arrangements have been investigated through liquid crystal polymer (LCP) to program such a movement. Smart polymers and hereby liquid crystal matrices are materials of interest for their easy structuration properties and their response to external stimuli. However, up until very recently, their employment at the microscale was mainly limited to 2D structuration. Among the numerous issues, one concerns the ability to 3D structure the material while controlling the molecular orientation during the polymerization process. This review aims to report recent efforts focused on the microstructuration of LCP, in particular those dealing with 3D microfabrication via two-photon polymerization (TPP). Indeed, the latter has revolutionized the production of 3D complex micro-objects and is nowadays recognized as the gold standard for 3D micro-printing. After a short introduction highlighting the interest in micromachines, some basic principles of liquid crystals are recalled from the molecular aspect to their implementation. Finally, the possibilities offered by TPP as well as the way to monitor the motion into the fabricated microrobots are highlighted.

Electric-Driven Polarization Meta-Optics for Tunable Edge-Enhanced Images

In this study, we demonstrate an electrically driven, polarization-controlled metadevice to achieve tunable edge-enhanced images. The metadevice was elaborately designed by integrating single-layer metalens with a liquid-crystal plate to control the incident polarization. By modulating electric-driven voltages applied on the liquid-crystal plate, the metalens can provide two polarization-dependent phase profiles (hyperbolic phase and focusing spiral phase). Therefore, the metalens can perform two-dimensional focusing and spatial differential operation on an incident optical field, allowing dynamic switching between the bright-field imaging and the edge-enhanced imaging. Capitalizing on the compactness and dynamic tuning of the proposed metadevice, our scheme carves a promising path to image processing and biomedical imaging technology.

Role of electric currents in the Fano resonances of connected plasmonic structures

In this work, we use finite elements simulations to study the far field properties of two plasmonic structures, namely a dipole antenna and a cylinder dimer, connected to a pair of nanorods. We show that electrical, rather than near field, coupling between the modes of these structures results in a characteristic Fano lineshape in the far field spectra. This insight provides a way of tailoring the far field properties of such systems to fit specific applications, especially maintaining the optical properties of plasmonic antennas once they are connected to nanoelectrodes. This work extends the previous understanding of Fano resonances as generated by a simple near field coupling and provides a route to an efficient design of functional plasmonic electrodes.

Artificial Structural Colors and Applications

Structural colors are colors generated by the interaction between incident light and nanostructures. Structural colors have been studied for decades due to their promising advantages of long-term stability and environmentally friendly properties compared with conventional pigments and dyes. Previous studies have demonstrated many artificial structural colors inspired by naturally generated colors from plants and animals. Moreover, many strategies consisting of different principles have been reported to achieve dynamically tunable structural colors. Furthermore, the artificial structural colors can have multiple functions besides decoration, such as absorbing solar energy, anti-counterfeiting, and information encryption. In the present work, we reviewed the typical artificial structural colors generated by multilayer films, photonic crystals, and metasurfaces according to the type of structures, and discussed the approaches to achieve dynamically tunable structural colors.

Reversible optical tuning of GeSbTe phase-change metasurface spectral filters for mid-wave infrared imaging

Tunable narrowband spectral filtering across arbitrary optical wavebands is highly desirable in a plethora of applications, from chemical sensing and hyperspectral imaging to infrared astronomy. Yet, the ability to reconfigure the optical properties, with full reversibility, of a solid-state large-area narrowband filter remains elusive. Existing solutions require either moving parts, have slow response times, or provide limited spectral coverage. Here, we demonstrate a 1-inch diameter continuously tunable, fully reversible, all-solid-state, narrowband phase-change metasurface filter based on a GeSbTe-225 (GST)-embedded plasmonic nanohole array. The passband of the presented device is ∼ 74 n m with ∼ 70 % transmittance and operates across the 3-5 µm thermal imaging waveband. Continuous, reconfigurable tuning is achieved by exploiting intermediate GST phases via optical switching with a single nanosecond laser pulse, and material stability is verified through multiple switching cycles. We further demonstrate multispectral thermal imaging in the mid-wave infrared using our active phase-change metasurfaces. Our results pave the way for highly functional, reduced power, compact hyperspectral imaging systems and customizable optical filters for real-world system integration.

Electrically-controlled digital metasurface device for light projection displays

Light projection displays play an increasingly important role in our modern life. Core projection systems including liquid crystal displays and digital micromirror devices can impose spatial light modulation and actively shape light waves. Recently, the advent of metasurfaces has revolutionized design concepts in nanophotonics, enabling a new family of optical elements with exceptional degrees of freedom. Here, we demonstrate a light projection display technology based on optical metasurfaces, called digital metasurface device (DMSD). Each metasurface pixel in a DMSD is electrically reconfigurable with well-controlled programmability and addressability. The DMSD can not only continuously modulate the intensity of light with high contrast, but also shape the wavefront of light generated by each metasurface pixel and dynamically switch between arbitrary holographic patterns. Our approach will pave an avenue towards the development of customized light projection devices. It will also drive the field of dynamic optical metasurfaces with fresh momentum and inspiring concepts.

Spatially Broadband Coupled-Surface Plasmon Wave Assisted Transmission Effect in Azo-Dye-Doped Liquid Crystal Cell

Active tuning on a plasmonic structure is discussed in this report. We examined the transient transmission effects of an azo-dye-doped liquid crystal cell on a metallic surface grating. The transition between isotropic and nematic phases in liquid crystal generated micro-domains was shown to induce the dynamic scattering of light from a He-Ne laser, thereby allowing transmission through a non-transparent aluminum film overlaying a dielectric grating. Various grating pitches were tested in terms of transmission effects. The patterned gratings include stripe ones and circular forms. Our results indicate that surface plasmon polariton waves are involved in the transmission process. We also demonstrated how momentum diagrams of gratings and Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) modes combined with Mie scattering effects could explain the broadband coupling phenomenon. This noteworthy transition process could be applied to the development of spatially broadband surface plasmon polariton coupling devices.

Tunable mid-wave infrared Fabry-Perot bandpass filters using phase-change GeSbTe

We demonstrate spectrally-tunable Fabry-Perot bandpass filters operating across the MWIR by utilizing the phase-change material GeSbTe (GST) as a tunable cavity medium between two (Ge:Si) distributed Bragg reflectors. The induced refractive index modulation of GST increases the cavity's optical path length, red-shifting the passband. Our filters have spectral-tunability of ∼300 nm, transmission efficiencies of 60-75% and narrowband FWHMs of 50-65 nm (Q-factor ∼70-90). We further show multispectral thermal imaging and gas sensing. By matching the filter's initial passband to a CO2 vibrational-absorption mode (∼4.25 µm), tunable atmospheric CO2 sensing and dynamic plume visualization of added CO2 is realized.

Metal-graphene hybridized plasmon induced transparency in the terahertz frequencies

In this work, metal-graphene hybridized plasmon induced transparency (PIT) is systematically studied in the proposed simple metal/dielectric/graphene system. The PIT effect is the result of the coupling between the bright dipolar modes excited in the graphene regions under the shorter metallic bars and the dark quadrupolar modes excited in the graphene regions under the longer metallic bars. The coupled Lorentz oscillator model is used to help explain the physical origin of the PIT effect. Other than being tuned by the distance and the lateral displacement of the orthogonal metallic bars, the coupling efficiency can be further enhanced by the in-phase coupling or quenched by the out-of-phase coupling between the adjacent unit cells. Reduced barrier thickness will result in the enhancement of the coupling strengths and the scaling down of the device. Finally, we show that the PIT window can be actively tuned by changing the Fermi energy of graphene. The proposed structure has potential applications in actively tunable THz modulators, sensors and filters.

Plasmonics for Biosensing

Techniques based on plasmonic resonance can provide label-free, signal enhanced, and real-time sensing means for bioparticles and bioprocesses at the molecular level. With the development in nanofabrication and material science, plasmonics based on synthesized nanoparticles and manufactured nano-patterns in thin films have been prosperously explored. In this short review, resonance modes, materials, and hybrid functions by simultaneously using electrical conductivity for plasmonic biosensing techniques are exclusively reviewed for designs containing nanovoids in thin films. This type of plasmonic biosensors provide prominent potential to achieve integrated lab-on-a-chip which is capable of transporting and detecting minute of multiple bio-analytes with extremely high sensitivity, selectivity, multi-channel and dynamic monitoring for the next generation of point-of-care devices.

Plasmonic- and dielectric-based structural coloring: from fundamentals to practical applications

Structural coloring is production of color by surfaces that have microstructure fine enough to interfere with visible light; this phenomenon provides a novel paradigm for color printing. Plasmonic color is an emergent property of the interaction between light and metallic surfaces. This phenomenon can surpass the diffraction limit and achieve near unlimited lifetime. We categorize plasmonic color filters according to their designs (hole, rod, metal-insulator-metal, grating), and also describe structures supported by Mie resonance. We discuss the principles, and the merits and demerits of each color filter. We also discuss a new concept of color filters with tunability and reconfigurability, which enable printing of structural color to yield dynamic coloring at will. Approaches for dynamic coloring are classified as liquid crystal, chemical transition and mechanical deformation. At the end of review, we highlight a scale-up of fabrication methods, including nanoimprinting, self-assembly and laser-induced process that may enable real-world application of structural coloring.