Stabilization of hydrogen-bonded molecular chains by carbon nanotubes

We study numerically nonlinear dynamics of several types of molecular systems composed of hydrogen-bonded chains placed inside carbon nanotubes with open edges. We demonstrate that carbon nanotubes provide a stabilization mechanism for quasi-one-dimensional molecular chains via the formation of their secondary structures. In particular, a polypeptide chain (Gly)N placed inside a carbon nanotube can form a stable helical chain (310-, α-, π-, and β-helix) with parallel chains of hydrogen-bonded peptide groups. A chain of hydrogen fluoride molecules ⋯FH⋯FH⋯FH can form a hydrogen-bonded zigzag chain. Remarkably, we demonstrate that for molecular complexes (Gly)N∈CNT and (FH)N∈CNT, the hydrogen-bonded chains will remain stable even at T=500 K. Thus, our results suggest that the use of carbon nanotubes with encapsulated hydrogen fluoride molecules may be important for the realization of high proton conductivity at high temperatures.

Chiral organic molecular structures supported by planar surfaces

We employ the molecular dynamics simulations to study the dynamics of acetanilide (ACN) molecules placed on a flat surface of planar multilayer hexagonal boron nitride. We demonstrate that the ACN molecules, known to be achiral in the three-dimensional space, become chiral after being placed on the substrate. Homochirality of the ACN molecules leads to stable secondary structures stabilized by hydrogen bonds between peptide groups of the molecules. By employing molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal that the structure of the resulting hydrogen-bond chains depends on the isomeric composition of the molecules. If all molecules are homochiral (i.e., with only one isomer being present), they form secondary structures (chains of hydrogen bonds in the shapes of arcs, circles, and spirals). If the molecules at the substrate form a racemic mixture, then no regular secondary structures appear, and only curvilinear chains of hydrogen bonds of random shapes emerge. A hydrogen-bond chain can form a zigzag array only if it has an alternation of isomers. Such chains can create two-dimensional (2D) regular lattices or 2D crystals. The melting scenarios of such 2D crystals depend on density of its coverage of the substrate. At 25% coverage, melting occurs continuously in the temperature interval 295-365 K. For a complete coverage, melting occurs at 415-470 K due to a shift of 11% of all molecules into the second layer of the substrate.

Chiral electroluminescence from thin-film perovskite metacavities

Chiral light sources realized in ultracompact device platforms are highly desirable for various applications. Among active media used for thin-film emission devices, lead-halide perovskites have been extensively studied for photoluminescence due to their exceptional properties. However, up to date, there have been no demonstrations of chiral electroluminescence with a substantial degree of circular polarization (DCP) based on perovskite materials, being critical for the development of practical devices. Here, we propose a concept of chiral light sources based on a thin-film perovskite metacavity and experimentally demonstrate chiral electroluminescence with a peak DCP approaching 0.38. We design a metacavity created by a metal and a dielectric metasurface supporting photonic eigenstates with a close-to-maximum chiral response. Chiral cavity modes facilitate asymmetric electroluminescence of pairs of left and right circularly polarized waves propagating in the opposite oblique directions. The proposed ultracompact light sources are especially advantageous for many applications requiring chiral light beams of both helicities.

Inverse-Designed Metaphotonics for Hypersensitive Detection

Controlling the flow of broadband electromagnetic energy at the nanoscale remains a critical challenge in optoelectronics. Surface plasmon polaritons (or plasmons) provide subwavelength localization of light but are affected by significant losses. On the contrary, dielectrics lack a sufficiently robust response in the visible to trap photons similar to metallic structures. Overcoming these limitations appears elusive. Here we demonstrate that addressing this problem is possible if we employ a novel approach based on suitably deformed reflective metaphotonic structures. The complex geometrical shape engineered in these reflectors emulates nondispersive index responses, which can be inverse-designed following arbitrary form factors. We discuss the realization of essential components such as resonators with an ultrahigh refractive index of n = 100 in diverse profiles. These structures support the localization of light in the form of bound states in the continuum (BIC), fully localized in air, in a platform in which all refractive index regions are physically accessible. We discuss our approach to sensing applications, designing a class of sensors where the analyte directly contacts areas of ultrahigh refractive index. Leveraging this feature, we report an optical sensor with sensitivity two times higher than the closest competitor with a similar micrometer footprint. Inversely designed reflective metaphotonics offers a flexible technology for controlling broadband light, supporting optoelectronics' integration with large bandwidths in circuitry with miniaturized footprints.

Planar chiral metasurfaces with maximal and tunable chiroptical response driven by bound states in the continuum

Optical metasurfaces with high quality factors (Q-factors) of chiral resonances can boost substantially light-matter interaction for various applications of chiral response in ultrathin, active, and nonlinear metadevices. However, current approaches lack the flexibility to enhance and tune the chirality and Q-factor simultaneously. Here, we suggest a design of chiral metasurface supporting bound state in the continuum (BIC) and demonstrate experimentally chiroptical responses with ultra-high Q-factors and near-perfect circular dichroism (CD = 0.93) at optical frequencies. We employ the symmetry-reduced meta-atoms with high birefringence supporting winding elliptical eigenstate polarizations with opposite helicity. It provides a convenient way for achieving the maximal planar chirality tuned by either breaking in-plane structure symmetry or changing illumination angle. Beyond linear CD, we also achieved strong near-field enhancement CD and near-unitary nonlinear CD in the same planar chiral metasurface design with circular eigen-polarization. Sharply resonant chirality realized in planar metasurfaces promises various practical applications including chiral lasers and chiral nonlinear filters.

Here, the authors employ the physics of chiral bound states in the continuum and suggest planar chiral metasurfaces with simultaneous ultrahigh quality factor and near-perfect circular dichroism in both linear regime and nonlinear regime.

Wafer-Scale Functional Metasurfaces for Mid-Infrared Photonics and Biosensing

Metasurfaces have emerged as a breakthrough platform for manipulating light at the nanoscale and enabling on-demand optical functionalities for next-generation biosensing, imaging, and light-generating photonic devices. However, translating this technology to practical applications requires low-cost and high-throughput fabrication methods. Due to the limited choice of materials with suitable optical properties, it is particularly challenging to produce metasurfaces for the technologically relevant mid-infrared spectral range. These constraints are overcome by realizing functional metasurfaces on almost completely transparent free-standing metal-oxide membranes. A versatile nanofabrication process is developed and implemented for highly efficient dielectric and plasmonic mid-infrared metasurfaces with wafer-scale and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible manufacturing techniques. The advantages of this method are revealed by demonstrating highly uniform and functional metasurfaces, including high-Q structures enabling fine spectral selectivity, large-area metalenses with diffraction-limited focusing capabilities, and birefringent metasurfaces providing polarization control at record-high conversion efficiencies.  Aluminum plasmonic devices and their integration into microfluidics for real-time and label-free mid-infrared biosensing of proteins and lipid vesicles are further demonstrated. The versatility of this approach and its compatibility with mass-production processes bring infrared metasurfaces markedly closer to commercial applications, such as thermal imaging, spectroscopy, and biosensing.

All-Dielectric Nanostructures with a Thermoresponsible Dynamic Polymer Shell

We suggest a new strategy for creating stimuli-responsive bio-integrated optical nanostructures based on Mie-resonant silicon nanoparticles covered by an ensemble of similarity negatively charged polyelectrolytes (heparin and sodium polystyrene sulfonate). The dynamic tuning of the nanostructures' optical response is due to light-induced heating of the nanoparticles and swelling of the polyelectrolyte shell. The resulting hydrophilic/hydrophobic transitions significantly change the shell thickness and reversible shift of the scattering spectra for individual nanoparticles up to 60 nm. Our findings bring novel opportunities for the application of smart nanomaterials in nanomedicine and bio-integrated nanophotonics.

All-Dielectric Nanostructures with a Thermoresponsible Dynamic Polymer Shell

We suggest a new strategy for creating stimuli-responsive bio-integrated optical nanostructures based on Mie-resonant silicon nanoparticles covered by an ensemble of similarity negatively charged polyelectrolytes (heparin and sodium polystyrene sulfonate). The dynamic tuning of the nanostructures' optical response is due to light-induced heating of the nanoparticles and swelling of the polyelectrolyte shell. The resulting hydrophilic/hydrophobic transitions significantly change the shell thickness and reversible shift of the scattering spectra for individual nanoparticles up to 60 nm. Our findings bring novel opportunities for the application of smart nanomaterials in nanomedicine and bio-integrated nanophotonics.

Metasurfaces with Maximum Chirality Empowered by Bound States in the Continuum

We demonstrate that rotationally symmetric chiral metasurfaces can support sharp resonances with the maximum optical chirality determined by precise shaping of bound states in the continuum (BICs). Being uncoupled from one circular polarization of light and resonantly coupled to its counterpart, a metasurface hosting the chiral BIC resonance exhibits a narrow peak in the circular dichroism spectrum with the quality factor limited by weak dissipation losses. We propose a realization of such chiral BIC metasurfaces based on pairs of dielectric bars and validate the concept of maximum chirality by numerical simulations.

Photon-Mediated Localization in Two-Level Qubit Arrays

We predict the existence of a novel interaction-induced spatial localization in a periodic array of qubits coupled to a waveguide. This localization can be described as a quantum analogue of a self-induced optical lattice between two indistinguishable photons, where one photon creates a standing wave that traps the other photon. The localization is caused by the interplay between on-site repulsion due to the photon blockade and the waveguide-mediated long-range coupling between the qubits.

Inelastic Scattering of Photon Pairs in Qubit Arrays with Subradiant States

We develop a rigorous theoretical approach for analyzing inelastic scattering of photon pairs in arrays of two-level qubits embedded into a waveguide. Our analysis reveals a strong enhancement of the scattering when the energy of incoming photons resonates with the double-excited subradiant states. We identify the role of different double-excited states in the scattering, such as superradiant, subradiant, and twilight states, as a product of single-excitation bright and subradiant states. Importantly, the N-excitation subradiant states can be engineered only if the number of qubits exceeds 2N. Both the subradiant and twilight states can generate long-lived photon-photon correlations, paving the way to storage and processing of quantum information.

All-Dielectric Active Terahertz Photonics Driven by Bound States in the Continuum

The remarkable emergence of all-dielectric meta-photonics governed by the physics of high-index dielectric materials offers a low-loss platform for efficient manipulation and subwavelength control of electromagnetic waves from microwaves to visible frequencies. Dielectric metasurfaces can focus electromagnetic waves, generate structured beams and vortices, enhance local fields for advanced sensing, and provide novel functionalities for classical and quantum technologies. Recent advances in meta-photonics are associated with the exploration of exotic electromagnetic modes called the bound states in the continuum (BICs), which offer a simple interference mechanism to achieve large quality factors (Q) through excitation of supercavity modes in dielectric nanostructures and resonant metasurfaces. Here, a BIC-driven terahertz metasurface with dynamic control of high-Q silicon supercavities that are reconfigurable at a nanosecond timescale is experimentally demonstrated. It is revealed that such supercavities enable low-power, optically induced terahertz switching and modulation of sharp resonances for potential applications in lasing, mode multiplexing, and biosensing.

Angle-multiplexed all-dielectric metasurfaces for broadband molecular fingerprint retrieval

Infrared spectroscopy resolves the structure of molecules by detecting their characteristic vibrational fingerprints. Subwavelength light confinement and nanophotonic enhancement have extended the scope of this technique for monolayer studies. However, current approaches still require complex spectroscopic equipment or tunable light sources. Here, we introduce a novel metasurface-based method for detecting molecular absorption fingerprints over a broad spectrum, which combines the device-level simplicity of state-of-the-art angle-scanning refractometric sensors with the chemical specificity of infrared spectroscopy. Specifically, we develop germanium-based high-Q metasurfaces capable of delivering a multitude of spectrally selective and surface-sensitive resonances between 1100 and 1800 cm^-1. We use this approach to detect distinct absorption signatures of different interacting analytes including proteins, aptamers, and polylysine. In combination with broadband incoherent illumination and detection, our method correlates the total reflectance signal at each incidence angle with the strength of the molecular absorption, enabling spectrometer-less operation in a compact angle-scanning configuration ideally suited for field-deployable applications.

Single-Mode Lasing from Imprinted Halide-Perovskite Microdisks

Halide-perovskite microlasers have demonstrated fascinating performance owing to their low-threshold lasing at room temperature and low-cost fabrication. However, being synthesized chemically, controllable fabrication of such microlasers remains challenging, and it requires template-assisted growth or complicated nanolithography. Here, we suggest and implement an approach for the fabrication of microlasers by direct laser ablation of a thin film on glass with donut-shaped femtosecond laser beams. The fabricated microlasers represent MAPbBr _xI _y microdisks with 760 nm thickness and diameters ranging from 2 to 9 μm that are controlled by a topological charge of the vortex beam. As a result, this method allows one to fabricate single-mode perovskite microlasers operating at room temperature in a broad spectral range (550-800 nm) with Q-factors up to 5500. High-speed fabrication and reproducibility of microdisk parameters, as well as a precise control of their location on a surface, make it possible to fabricate centimeter-sized arrays of such microlasers. Our finding is important for direct writing of fully integrated coherent light sources for advanced photonic and optoelectronic circuitry.

Manipulation of Magnetic Dipole Emission from Eu3+ with Mie-Resonant Dielectric Metasurfaces

Mie-resonant high-index dielectric nanoparticles and metasurfaces have been suggested as a viable platform for enhancing both electric and magnetic dipole transitions of fluorescent emitters. While the enhancement of the electric dipole transitions by such dielectric nanoparticles has been demonstrated experimentally, the case of magnetic-dipole transitions remains largely unexplored. Here, we study the enhancement of spontaneous emission of Eu³⁺ ions, featuring both electric and magnetic-dominated dipole transitions, by dielectric metasurfaces composed of Mie-resonant silicon nanocylinders. By coating the metasurfaces with a layer of an Eu³⁺ doped polymer, we observe an enhancement of the Eu³⁺ emission associated with the electric (at 610 nm) and magnetic-dominated (at 590 nm) dipole transitions. The enhancement factor depends systematically on the spectral proximity of the atomic transitions to the Mie resonances as well as their multipolar order, both controlled by the nanocylinder size. Importantly, the branching ratio of emission via the electric or magnetic transition channel can be modified by carefully designing the metasurface, where the magnetic dipole transition is enhanced more than the electric transition for cylinders with radii of about 130 nm. We confirm our observations by numerical simulations based on the reciprocity principle. Our results open new opportunities for bright nanoscale light sources based on magnetic transitions.

Noninterleaved Metasurface for (26-1) Spin- and Wavelength-Encoded Holograms

Nanostructured metasurfaces demonstrate extraordinary capabilities to control light at the subwavelength scale, emerging as key optical components to physical realization of multitasked devices. Progress in multitasked metasurfaces has been witnessed in making a single metasurface multitasked by mainly resorting to extra spatial freedom, for example, interleaved subarrays, different angles. However, it imposes a challenge of suppressing the cross-talk among multiwavelength without the help of extra spatial freedom. Here, we introduce an entirely novel strategy of multitasked metasurfaces with noninterleaved single-size Si nanobrick arrays and minimalist spatial freedom demonstrating massive information on 6-bit encoded color holograms. The interference between electric dipole and magnetic dipole in individual Si nanobricks with in-plane orientation enables manipulating six bases of incident photons simultaneously to reconstructed 6-bit wavelength- and spin-dependent multicolor images. Those massively reconstructed images can be distinguished by pattern recognition. It opens an alternative route for integrated optics, data encoding, security encryption, and information engineering.

Engineering scattering patterns with asymmetric dielectric nanorods

By controlling interference of Mie resonance modes of various nanostructures, we can achieve a large number of nontrivial effects in nanophotonics. In this work, we propose a cylindrical structure in which the spectral overlap of the Mie-type modes can be controlled by drilling a hole parallel to the axis, thus changing unidirectional scattering. We further demonstrate that the scattering patterns can be tailored by rotating the structure to achieve almost arbitrary scattered wave direction.

Disorder-free weak dynamic localization in deformable lattices

We study the electron transport in a deformable lattice modeled in the semiclassical approximation as a discrete nonlinear elastic chain where acoustic phonons are in thermal equilibrium at temperature T. We reveal that an effective dynamic disorder induced in the system due to thermalized phonons is not strong enough to produce Anderson localization. However, for weak nonlinearity we observe a transition between ballistic (low T) and diffusive (high T) regimes, while for strong nonlinearity the transition occurs between the localized soliton (low T) and diffusive (high T) regimes. Thus, the electron-phonon interaction results in weak temperature-dependent dynamic localization.

Quantum metasurface for multiphoton interference and state reconstruction

Metasurfaces based on resonant nanophotonic structures have enabled innovative types of flat-optics devices that often outperform the capabilities of bulk components, yet these advances remain largely unexplored for quantum applications. We show that nonclassical multiphoton interferences can be achieved at the subwavelength scale in all-dielectric metasurfaces. We simultaneously image multiple projections of quantum states with a single metasurface, enabling a robust reconstruction of amplitude, phase, coherence, and entanglement of multiphoton polarization-encoded states. One- and two-photon states are reconstructed through nonlocal photon correlation measurements with polarization-insensitive click detectors positioned after the metasurface, and the scalability to higher photon numbers is established theoretically. Our work illustrates the feasibility of ultrathin quantum metadevices for the manipulation and measurement of multiphoton quantum states, with applications in free-space quantum imaging and communications.

Tunable Hybrid Fano Resonances in Halide Perovskite Nanoparticles

Halide perovskites are known to support excitons at room temperatures with high quantum yield of luminescence that make them attractive for all-dielectric resonant nanophotonics and meta-optics. Here we report the observation of broadly tunable Fano resonances in halide perovskite nanoparticles originating from the coupling of excitons to the Mie resonances excited in the nanoparticles. Signatures of the photon-exciton (" hybrid") Fano resonances are observed in dark-field spectra of isolated nanoparticles, and also in the extinction spectra of aperiodic lattices of such nanoparticles. In the latter case, chemical tunability of the exciton resonance allows reversible tuning of the Fano resonance across the 100 nm bandwidth in the visible frequency range, providing a novel approach to control optical properties of perovskite nanostructures. The proposed method of chemical tuning paves the way to an efficient control of emission properties of on-chip-integrated light-emitting nanoantennas.

Active Tuning of Spontaneous Emission by Mie-Resonant Dielectric Metasurfaces

Mie-resonant dielectric metasurfaces offer comprehensive opportunities for the manipulation of light fields with high efficiency. Additionally, various strategies for the dynamic tuning of the optical response of such metasurfaces were demonstrated, making them important candidates for reconfigurable optical devices. However, dynamic control of the light-emission properties of active Mie-resonant dielectric metasurfaces by an external control parameter has not been demonstrated so far. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the dynamic tuning of spontaneous emission from a Mie-resonant dielectric metasurface that is situated on a fluorescent substrate and embedded into a liquid crystal cell. By switching the liquid crystal from the nematic state to the isotropic state via control of the cell temperature, we induce a shift of the spectral position of the metasurface resonances. This results in a change of the local photonic density of states, which, in turn, governs the enhancement of spontaneous emission from the substrate. Specifically, we observe spectral tuning of both the electric and magnetic dipole resonances, resulting in a 2-fold increase of the emission intensity at λ ≈ 900 nm. Our results demonstrate a viable strategy to realize flat tunable light sources based on dielectric metasurfaces.

Imaging-based molecular barcoding with pixelated dielectric metasurfaces

Metasurfaces provide opportunities for wavefront control, flat optics, and subwavelength light focusing. We developed an imaging-based nanophotonic method for detecting mid-infrared molecular fingerprints and implemented it for the chemical identification and compositional analysis of surface-bound analytes. Our technique features a two-dimensional pixelated dielectric metasurface with a range of ultrasharp resonances, each tuned to a discrete frequency; this enables molecular absorption signatures to be read out at multiple spectral points, and the resulting information is then translated into a barcode-like spatial absorption map for imaging. The signatures of biological, polymer, and pesticide molecules can be detected with high sensitivity, covering applications such as biosensing and environmental monitoring. Our chemically specific technique can resolve absorption fingerprints without the need for spectrometry, frequency scanning, or moving mechanical parts, thereby paving the way toward sensitive and versatile miniaturized mid-infrared spectroscopy devices.

Generalized Kerker effects in nanophotonics and meta-optics [Invited]

The original Kerker effect was introduced for a hypothetical magnetic sphere, and initially it did not attract much attention due to a lack of magnetic materials required. Rejuvenated by the recent explosive development of the field of metamaterials and especially its core concept of optically-induced artificial magnetism, the Kerker effect has gained an unprecedented impetus and rapidly pervaded different branches of nanophotonics. At the same time, the concept behind the effect itself has also been significantly expanded and generalized. Here we review the physics and various manifestations of the generalized Kerker effects, including the progress in the emerging field of meta-optics that focuses on interferences of electromagnetic multipoles of different orders and origins. We discuss not only the scattering by individual particles and particle clusters, but also the manipulation of reflection, transmission, diffraction, and absorption for metalattices and metasurfaces, revealing how various optical phenomena observed recently are all ubiquitously related to the Kerker's concept.

Electric-current-induced unidirectional propagation of surface plasmon-polaritons

Nonreciprocity and one-way propagation of optical signals are crucial for modern nanophotonic technology, and typically achieved using magneto-optical effects requiring large magnetic biases. Here we suggest a fundamentally novel approach to achieve unidirectional propagation of surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) at metal-dielectric interfaces. We employ a direct electric current in metals, which produces a Doppler frequency shift of SPPs due to the uniform drift of electrons. This tilts the SPP dispersion, enabling one-way propagation, as well as zero and negative group velocities. The results are demonstrated for planar interfaces and cylindrical nanowire waveguides.

A comparative analysis of surface and bulk contributions to second-harmonic generation in centrosymmetric nanoparticles

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) from nanoparticles made of centrosymmetric materials provides an effective tool to characterize many important properties of photonic structures at the subwavelength scale. Here we study the relative contribution of surface and bulk effects to SHG for plasmonic and dielectric nanostructures made of centrosymmetric materials in both dispersive and non-dispersive regimes. Our calculations of the far-fields generated by the nonlinear surface and bulk currents reveal that the size of the nanoparticle strongly influences the amount and relative contributions of the surface and bulk SHG effects. Importantly, our study reveals that, whereas for plasmonic nanoparticles the surface contribution is always dominant, the bulk and surface SHG effects can become comparable for dielectric nanoparticles, and thus they both should be taken into account when analyzing nonlinear optical properties of all-dielectric nanostructures.

Light-Emitting Halide Perovskite Nanoantennas

Nanoantennas made of high-index dielectrics with low losses in visible and infrared frequency ranges have emerged as a novel platform for advanced nanophotonic devices. On the other hand, halide perovskites are known to possess high refractive index, and they support excitons at room temperature with high binding energies and quantum yield of luminescence that makes them very attractive for all-dielectric resonant nanophotonics. Here we employ halide perovskites to create light-emitting nanoantennas with enhanced photoluminescence due to the coupling of their excitons to dipolar and multipolar Mie resonances. We demonstrate that the halide perovskite nanoantennas can emit light in the range of 530-770 nm depending on their composition. We employ a simple technique based on laser ablation of thin films prepared by wet-chemistry methods as a novel cost-effective approach for the fabrication of resonant perovskite nanostructures.

High-Q Supercavity Modes in Subwavelength Dielectric Resonators

Recent progress in nanoscale optical physics is associated with the development of a new branch of nanophotonics exploring strong Mie resonances in dielectric nanoparticles with a high refractive index. The high-index resonant dielectric nanostructures form building blocks for novel photonic metadevices with low losses and advanced functionalities. However, unlike extensively studied cavities in photonic crystals, such dielectric resonators demonstrate low quality factors (Q factors). Here, we uncover a novel mechanism for achieving giant Q factors of subwavelength nanoscale resonators by realizing the regime of bound states in the continuum. In contrast to the previously suggested multilayer structures with zero permittivity, we reveal strong mode coupling and Fano resonances in homogeneous high-index dielectric finite-length nanorods resulting in high-Q factors at the nanoscale. Thus, high-index dielectric resonators represent the simplest example of nanophotonic supercavities, expanding substantially the range of applications of all-dielectric resonant nanophotonics and meta-optics.

High-bit rate ultra-compact light routing with mode-selective on-chip nanoantennas

Optical nanoantennas provide a promising pathway toward advanced manipulation of light waves, such as directional scattering, polarization conversion, and fluorescence enhancement. Although these functionalities were mainly studied for nanoantennas in free space or on homogeneous substrates, their integration with optical waveguides offers an important "wired" connection to other functional optical components. Taking advantage of the nanoantenna's versatility and unrivaled compactness, their imprinting onto optical waveguides would enable a marked enhancement of design freedom and integration density for optical on-chip devices. Several examples of this concept have been demonstrated recently. However, the important question of whether nanoantennas can fulfill functionalities for high-bit rate signal transmission without degradation, which is the core purpose of many integrated optical applications, has not yet been experimentally investigated. We introduce and investigate directional, polarization-selective, and mode-selective on-chip nanoantennas integrated with a silicon rib waveguide. We demonstrate that these nanoantennas can separate optical signals with different polarizations by coupling the different polarizations of light vertically to different waveguide modes propagating into opposite directions. As the central result of this work, we show the suitability of this concept for the control of optical signals with ASK (amplitude-shift keying) NRZ (nonreturn to zero) modulation [10 Gigabit/s (Gb/s)] without significant bit error rate impairments. Our results demonstrate that waveguide-integrated nanoantennas have the potential to be used as ultra-compact polarization-demultiplexing on-chip devices for high-bit rate telecommunication applications.

Optically resonant dielectric nanostructures

Rapid progress in nanophotonics is driven by the ability of optically resonant nanostructures to enhance near-field effects controlling far-field scattering through intermodal interference. A majority of such effects are usually associated with plasmonic nanostructures. Recently, a new branch of nanophotonics has emerged that seeks to manipulate the strong, optically induced electric and magnetic Mie resonances in dielectric nanoparticles with high refractive index. In the design of optical nanoantennas and metasurfaces, dielectric nanoparticles offer the opportunity for reducing dissipative losses and achieving large resonant enhancement of both electric and magnetic fields. We review this rapidly developing field and demonstrate that the magnetic response of dielectric nanostructures can lead to novel physical effects and applications.

Nonlinear Optical Magnetism Revealed by Second-Harmonic Generation in Nanoantennas

Nonlinear effects at the nanoscale are usually associated with the enhancement of electric fields in plasmonic structures. Recently emerged new platform for nanophotonics based on high-index dielectric nanoparticles utilizes optically induced magnetic response via multipolar Mie resonances and provides novel opportunities for nanoscale nonlinear optics. Here, we observe strong second-harmonic generation from AlGaAs nanoantennas driven by both electric and magnetic resonances. We distinguish experimentally the contribution of electric and magnetic nonlinear response by analyzing the structure of polarization states of vector beams in the second-harmonic radiation. We control continuously the transition between electric and magnetic nonlinearities by tuning polarization of the optical pump. Our results provide a direct observation of nonlinear optical magnetism through selective excitation of multipolar nonlinear modes in nanoantennas.

Anapole nanolasers for mode-locking and ultrafast pulse generation

Nanophotonics is a rapidly developing field of research with many suggestions for a design of nanoantennas, sensors and miniature metadevices. Despite many proposals for passive nanophotonic devices, the efficient coupling of light to nanoscale optical structures remains a major challenge. In this article, we propose a nanoscale laser based on a tightly confined anapole mode. By harnessing the non-radiating nature of the anapole state, we show how to engineer nanolasers based on InGaAs nanodisks as on-chip sources with unique optical properties. Leveraging on the near-field character of anapole modes, we demonstrate a spontaneously polarized nanolaser able to couple light into waveguide channels with four orders of magnitude intensity than classical nanolasers, as well as the generation of ultrafast (of 100 fs) pulses via spontaneous mode locking of several anapoles. Anapole nanolasers offer an attractive platform for monolithically integrated, silicon photonics sources for advanced and efficient nanoscale circuitry.

Efficient Second-Harmonic Generation in Nanocrystalline Silicon Nanoparticles

Recent trends to employ high-index dielectric particles in nanophotonics are motivated by their reduced dissipative losses and large resonant enhancement of nonlinear effects at the nanoscale. Because silicon is a centrosymmetric material, the studies of nonlinear optical properties of silicon nanoparticles have been targeting primarily the third-harmonic generation effects. Here we demonstrate, both experimentally and theoretically, that resonantly excited nanocrystalline silicon nanoparticles fabricated by an optimized laser printing technique can exhibit strong second-harmonic generation (SHG) effects. We attribute an unexpectedly high yield of the nonlinear conversion to a nanocrystalline structure of nanoparticles supporting the Mie resonances. The demonstrated efficient SHG at green light from a single silicon nanoparticle is 2 orders of magnitude higher than that from unstructured silicon films. This efficiency is significantly higher than that of many plasmonic nanostructures and small silicon nanoparticles in the visible range, and it can be useful for a design of nonlinear nanoantennas and silicon-based integrated light sources.

Highly sensitive biosensors based on all-dielectric nanoresonators

Biosensing based on nanophotonic structures has shown a great potential for cost-efficient, high-speed and compact personal medical diagnostics. While plasmonic nanosensors offer high sensitivity, their intrinsically restricted resonance quality factors and strong heating due to metal absorption impose severe limitations on real life applications. Here, we demonstrate an all-dielectric sensing platform based on silicon nanodisks with strong optically-induced magnetic resonances, which are able to detect a concentration of streptavidin of as low as 10^-10 M (mol L^-1) or 5 ng mL^-1, thus pushing the current detection limit by at least two orders of magnitudes. Our study suggests a new direction in biosensing based on bio-compatible, non-toxic, robust and low-loss dielectric nanoresonators with potential applications in medicine, including disease diagnosis and drug detection.

Suppression of scattering for small dielectric particles: anapole mode and invisibility

We reveal that an isotropic, homogeneous, subwavelength particle with high refractive index can produce ultra-small total scattering. This effect, which follows from the inhibition of the electric dipole radiation, can be identified as a Fano resonance in the scattering efficiency and is associated with the excitation of an anapole mode in the particle. This anapole mode is non-radiative and emerges from the destructive interference of electric and toroidal dipoles. The invisibility effect could be useful for the design of highly transparent optical materials.This article is part of the themed issue 'New horizons for nanophotonics'.

Refractive index sensing with Fano resonances in silicon oligomers

We demonstrate experimentally refractive index sensing with localized Fano resonances in silicon oligomers, consisting of six disks surrounding a central one of slightly different diameter. Owing to the low absorption and narrow Fano-resonant spectral features appearing as a result of the interference of the modes of the outer and the central disks, we demonstrate refractive index sensitivity of more than 150 nm RIU^-1 with a figure of merit of 3.8.This article is part of the themed issue 'New horizons for nanophotonics'.

Multipolar interference effects in nanophotonics

Scattering of electromagnetic waves by an arbitrary nanoscale object can be characterized by a multipole decomposition of the electromagnetic field that allows one to describe the scattering intensity and radiation pattern through interferences of dominating multipole modes excited. In modern nanophotonics, both generation and interference of multipole modes start to play an indispensable role, and they enable nanoscale manipulation of light with many related applications. Here, we review the multipolar interference effects in metallic, metal-dielectric and dielectric nanostructures, and suggest a comprehensive view on many phenomena involving the interferences of electric, magnetic and toroidal multipoles, which drive a number of recently discussed effects in nanophotonics such as unidirectional scattering, effective optical antiferromagnetism, generalized Kerker scattering with controlled angular patterns, generalized Brewster angle, and non-radiating optical anapoles. We further discuss other types of possible multipolar interference effects not yet exploited in the literature and envisage the prospect of achieving more flexible and advanced nanoscale control of light relying on the concepts of multipolar interference through full phase and amplitude engineering.This article is part of the themed issue 'New horizons for nanophotonics'.

Third-harmonic generation from Mie-type resonances of isolated all-dielectric nanoparticles

Subwavelength silicon nanoparticles are known to support strongly localized Mie-type modes, including those with resonant electric and magnetic dipolar polarizabilities. Here we compare experimentally the efficiency of the third-harmonic generation from isolated silicon nanodiscs for resonant excitation at the two types of dipolar resonances. Using nonlinear spectroscopy, we observe that the magnetic dipolar mode yields more efficient third-harmonic radiation in contrast to the electric dipolar (ED) mode. This is further supported by full-wave numerical simulations, where the volume-integrated local fields and the directly simulated nonlinear response are shown to be negligible at the ED resonance compared with the magnetic one.This article is part of the themed issue 'New horizons for nanophotonics'.

Nonlinear Generation of Vector Beams From AlGaAs Nanoantennas

The quest for nanoscale light sources with designer radiation patterns and polarization has motivated the development of nanoantennas that interact strongly with the incoming light and are able to transform its frequency, radiation, and polarization patterns. Here, we demonstrate dielectric AlGaAs nanoantennas for efficient second harmonic generation, enabling the control of both directionality and polarization of nonlinear emission. This is enabled by specialized III-V semiconductor nanofabrication of high-quality AlGaAs nanostructures embedded in optically transparent low-index material, thus allowing for simultaneous forward and backward nonlinear emission. We show that the nanodisk AlGaAs antennas can emit second harmonic in preferential direction with a backward-to-forward ratio of up to five and can also generate complex vector polarization beams, including beams with radial polarization.

Near-field coupling and resonant cavity modes in plasmonic nanorod metamaterials

Plasmonic resonant cavities are capable of confining light at the nanoscale, resulting in both enhanced local electromagnetic fields and lower mode volumes. However, conventional plasmonic resonant cavities possess large Ohmic losses at metal-dielectric interfaces. Plasmonic near-field coupling plays a key role in a design of photonic components based on the resonant cavities because of the possibility to reduce losses. Here, we study the plasmonic near-field coupling in the silver nanorod metamaterials treated as resonant nanostructured optical cavities. Reflectance measurements reveal the existence of multiple resonance modes of the nanorod metamaterials, which is consistent with our theoretical analysis. Furthermore, our numerical simulations show that the electric field at the longitudinal resonances forms standing waves in the nanocavities due to the near-field coupling between the adjacent nanorods, and a new hybrid mode emerges due to a coupling between nanorods and a gold-film substrate. We demonstrate that this coupling can be controlled by changing the gap between the silver nanorod array and gold substrate.

Multifold Enhancement of Third-Harmonic Generation in Dielectric Nanoparticles Driven by Magnetic Fano Resonances

Strong Mie-type magnetic dipole resonances in all-dielectric nanostructures provide novel opportunities for enhancing nonlinear effects at the nanoscale due to the intense electric and magnetic fields trapped within the individual nanoparticles. Here we study third-harmonic generation from quadrumers of silicon nanodisks supporting high-quality collective modes associated with the magnetic Fano resonance. We observe nontrivial wavelength and angular dependencies of the generated harmonic signal featuring a multifold enhancement of the nonlinear response in oligomeric systems.

Resonant Raman scattering from silicon nanoparticles enhanced by magnetic response

Enhancement of optical response with high-index dielectric nanoparticles is attributed to the excitation of their Mie-type magnetic and electric resonances. Here we study Raman scattering from crystalline silicon nanoparticles and reveal that magnetic dipole modes have a much stronger effect on the scattering than electric modes of the same order. We demonstrate experimentally a 140-fold enhancement of the Raman signal from individual silicon spherical nanoparticles at the magnetic dipole resonance. Our results confirm the importance of the optically-induced magnetic response of subwavelength dielectric nanoparticles for enhancing light-matter interactions.

Polarisation-independent enhanced scattering by tailoring asymmetric plasmonic systems

Polarised light provides an efficient way for dynamic control over local optical properties of nanoscale plasmonic structures. Yet many applications that utilise control over the plasmonic near-field would benefit if the plasmonic device maintained the same magnitude of optical response for all polarisations. Here we show that completely asymmetric nanostructures can be designed to exhibit a broadband polarisation-independent and enhanced optical response. We provide both analytical and experimental results on two sets of plasmonic trimer nanostructures consisting of unequal nanodisks/apertures with different gap spacing. We show that, at certain inter-particle separations, enhanced far-field cross sections are independent to the incident polarisation, while still demonstrating nontrivial near-field control.

Enhancement of Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Metasurfaces

It is revealed that the unique properties of ultrathin metasurface resonators can improve magnetic resonance imaging dramatically. A metasurface formed when an array of metallic wires is placed inside a scanner under the studied object and a substantial enhancement of the radio-frequency magnetic field is achieved by means of subwavelength manipulation with the metasurface, also allowing improved image resolution.

Purcell effect and Lamb shift as interference phenomena

The Purcell effect and Lamb shift are two well-known physical phenomena which are usually discussed in the context of quantum electrodynamics, with the zero-point vibrations as a driving force of those effects in the quantum approach. Here we discuss the classical counterparts of these quantum effects in photonics, and explain their physics trough interference wave phenomena. As an example, we consider a waveguide in a planar photonic crystal with a side-coupled defect, and demonstrate a perfect agreement between the results obtained on the basis of quantum and classic approaches and reveal their link to the Fano resonance. We find that in such a waveguide-cavity geometry the Purcell effect can modify the lifetime by at least 25 times, and the Lamb shift can exceed 3 half-widths of the cavity spectral line.

Phase diagram for the transition from photonic crystals to dielectric metamaterials

Photonic crystals and dielectric metamaterials represent two different classes of artificial media but are often composed of similar structural elements. The question is how to distinguish these two types of periodic structures when their parameters, such as permittivity and lattice constant, vary continuously. Here we discuss transition between photonic crystals and dielectric metamaterials and introduce the concept of a phase diagram, based on the physics of Mie and Bragg resonances. We show that a periodic photonic structure transforms into a metamaterial when the Mie gap opens up below the lowest Bragg bandgap where the homogenization approach can be justified and the effective permeability becomes negative. Our theoretical approach is confirmed by microwave experiments for a metacrystal composed of tubes filled with heated water. This analysis yields deep insight into the properties of periodic structures, and provides a useful tool for designing different classes of electromagnetic materials with variable parameters.

Distinguishing between photonic crystals and metamaterials can provide a path for designing low-loss artificial materials with a range of novel applications. Here, Rybin et al. introduce a concept of phase transitions between all-dielectric metamaterials and photonic crystals based on the physics of Mie and Bragg resonances.