Bessel beams as virtual tips for near-field optics

In the previous NFO meeting, we proposed the use of confined evanescent light beams as 'virtual' or 'immaterial' tips. Unfortunately, this technique was hindered by the need for perfectly radially polarized light beams. In this communication, we propose a simple, stable and cheap method allowing the generation of beams of any polarization and more especially of purely radially polarized light beams. We also demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that for near-field imaging systems polarization is a limiting factor of resolution and light confinement. Finally, we present the very first experimental results dealing with virtual tips.

Smallest lithographic marks generated by optical focusing systems

We show that the combination of Bessel beams and photosensitive materials exhibiting polarization filtering properties allows one to reach the smallest mark that can be lithographically generated by focusing systems. This property is of interest in current optical data storage techniques.

Diabolo nanoantenna for enhancing and confining the magnetic optical field

In this Letter, we introduce a new nanoantenna concept aimed at generating a single magnetic hot spot in the optical frequency range, thus confining and enhancing the magnetic optical field on the background of a much lower electric field. This nanoantenna, designed by applying Babinet's principle to the bowtie nanoaperture, takes the shape of a diabolo. It differs from the well-known bowtie nanoantenna in that the opposing pair of metal triangles are electrically connected through their facing tips. Thus instead of a large charge density accumulating at the air gap of the bowtie nanoantenna, leading to a large electric field, a high optical current density develops within the central "metal gap" of the diabolo nanoantenna, leading to a large magnetic field. Numerical simulation results on the first nanodiabolo geometries show a 2900-fold enhancement of the magnetic field at a wavelength of 2540 nm, confined to a 40-by-40 nm region near the center of the nanoantenna.

Photopolymers as vectorial sensors of the electric field

We propose to use radially, azimuthally and circularly polarized Bessel beams as inhomogeneous illuminating system to unambiguously analyze the vectorial optical response of azo-dye polymers. It is shown that the well-known sensitivity of azo-dye molecules to polarization direction gives rise to surface deformations which are proportional to the longitudinal electric-field component. This property opens a large field of applications in the vectorial analysis of light fields, especially for nano-optics/nanophotonics.

Immaterial tip concept by light confinement

It is shown that the combination of TM polarized coherent evanescent light beams can lead to (x, y) confined light distributions. Moreover, owing to the evanescent nature of the interfering beams, the spatial distribution of the square modulus of the electric field does not vary versus the z-distance. Such an energy distribution can be used as a virtual tip, allowing the scanning of a sample without any mechanical contact with it.

Polarization filtering induced by imaging systems: effect on image structure

In this paper are reported the results concerning the experimental study of the interaction between the vectorial amplitude of an optical field and imaging systems. It is shown that far-field as well as near-field imaging systems beside their spatial frequency filtering ability, also act as polarization filters playing a determinant role on the image structure. This conclusion is drawn from an experimental and theoretical study involving a radially polarized Bessel beam used as a test object.

Magnetic spin-orbit interaction of light

We study the directional excitation of optical surface waves controlled by the magnetic field of light. We theoretically predict that a spinning magnetic dipole develops a tunable unidirectional coupling of light to transverse electric (TE) polarized Bloch surface waves (BSWs). Experimentally, we show that the helicity of light projected onto a subwavelength groove milled into the top layer of a 1D photonic crystal (PC) controls the power distribution between two TE-polarized BSWs excited on both sides of the groove. Such a phenomenon is shown to be solely mediated by the helicity of the magnetic optical field, thus revealing a magnetic spin-orbit interaction of light. Remarkably, this magnetic optical effect is clearly observed via a near-field coupler governed by an electric dipole moment: it is of the same order of magnitude as the electric optical effects involved in the coupling. This opens up new degrees of freedom for the manipulation of light and offers desirable and novel opportunities for the development of integrated optical functionalities.

Full vectorial imaging of electromagnetic light at subwavelength scale

We propose a concept of near-field imaging for the complete experimental description of the structure of light in three dimensions around nanodevices. It is based on a near-field microscope able to simultaneously map the distributions of two orthogonal electric-field components at the sample surface. From a single 2D acquisition of these two components, the complementary electric and magnetic field lines and Poynting vector distributions are reconstructed in a volume beneath the sample using rigorous numerical methods. The experimental analysis of localized electric and magnetic optical effects as well as energy flows at the subwavelength scale becomes possible. This work paves the way toward the development of a complete electromagnetic diagnostic of nano-optical devices and metamaterials.

Bowtie nano-aperture as interface between near-fields and a single-mode fiber

We present the development and study of a single bowtie nano-aperture (BNA) at the end of a monomode optical fiber as an interface between near-fields/nano-optical objects and the fiber mode. To optimize energy conversion between BNA and the single fiber mode, the BNA is opened at the apex of a specially designed polymer fiber tip which acts as an efficient mediator (like a horn optical antenna) between the two systems. As a first application, we propose to use our device as polarizing electric-field nanocollector for scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM). However, this BNA-on-fiber probe may also find applications in nanolithography, addressing and telecommunications as well as in situ biological and chemical probing and trapping.

Fiber-integrated optical nano-tweezer based on a bowtie-aperture nano-antenna at the apex of a SNOM tip

We propose a new concept of fiber-integrated optical nano-tweezer on the basis of a single bowtie-aperture nano-antenna (BNA) fabricated at the apex of a metal-coated SNOM tip. We demonstrate 3D optical trapping of 0.5 micrometer latex beads with input power which does not exceed 1 mW. Optical forces induced by the BNA on tip are then analyzed numerically. They are found to be 10(3) times larger than the optical forces of a circular aperture of the same area. Such a fiber nanostructure provides a new path for manipulating nano-objects in a compact, flexible and versatile architecture and should thus open promising perspectives in physical, chemical and biomedical domains.

Linear to radial polarization conversion in the THz domain using a passive system

This paper addresses a passive system capable of converting a linearly polarized THz beam into a radially polarized one. This is obtained by extending to THz frequencies and waveguides an already proven concept based on mode selection in optical fibers. The approach is validated at 0.1 THz owing to the realization of a prototype involving a circular waveguide and two tapers that exhibits a radially polarized beam at its output. By a simple homothetic size reduction, the system can be easily adapted to higher THz frequencies.

Tunable Bloch surface waves in anisotropic photonic crystals based on lithium niobate thin films

We present an original type of one-dimensional photonic crystal that includes one anisotropic layer made of a lithium niobate thin film. We demonstrate the versatility of such a device sustaining different Bloch surface waves (BSWs), depending on the orientation of the incident wave. By varying the orientation of the illumination of the multilayer, we measured an angle variation of 7° between the BSWs corresponding to the extraordinary and the ordinary index of the lithium niobate thin film. The potential of such a platform opens the way to novel tunable and active planar optics based on the electro- and thermo-optical properties of lithium niobate.

Doubly Resonant Photonic Antenna for Single Infrared Quantum Dot Imaging at Telecommunication Wavelengths

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) have drawn strong interest in the past for their high prospects in scientific, medical, and industrial applications. However, the full characterization of these quantum emitters is currently restricted to the visible wavelengths, and it remains a key challenge to optically probe single CQDs operating in the infrared spectral domain, which is targeted by a growing number of applications. Here, we report the first experimental detection and imaging at room temperature of single infrared CQDs operating at telecommunication wavelengths. Imaging was done with a doubly resonant bowtie nanoaperture antenna (BNA) written at the end of a fiber nanoprobe, whose resonances spectrally fit the CQD absorption and emission wavelengths. Direct near-field characterization of PbS CQDs reveal individual nanocrystals with a spatial resolution of 75 nm (λ/20) together with their intrinsic 2D dipolar free-space emission properties and exciton dynamics (blinking phenomenon). Because the doubly resonant BNA is strongly transmissive at both the CQD absorption and the emission wavelengths, we are able to perform all-fiber nanoimaging with a standard 20% efficiency InGaAs avalanche photodiode (APD). The detection efficiency is predicted to be 3000 fold larger than with a conventional circular aperture tip of the same transmission area. Double resonance BNA fiber probes thus offer the possibility of exploring extreme light-matter interaction in low band gap CQDs with current plug-and-play detection techniques, opening up new avenues in the fields of infrared light-emitting devices, photodetectors, telecommunications, bioimaging, and quantum information technology.

Polarization controlled directional propagation of Bloch surface wave

Bloch surface waves (BSWs) are recently developing alternative to surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Due to dramatically enhanced propagation distance and strong field confinement these surface states can be successfully used in on-chip all-optical integrated devices of increased complexity. In this work we propose a highly miniaturized grating based BSW coupler which is gathering launching and directional switching functionalities in a single element. This device allows to control with polarization the propagation direction of Bloch surface waves at subwavelength scale, thus impacting a large panel of domains such as optical circuitry, function design, quantum optics, etc.

Fiber microaxicons fabricated by a polishing technique for the generation of Bessel-like beams

We report a simple method for generating microaxicons at the extremity of commercial optical fibers. The proposed solution, based on a polishing technique, can readily produce any desired microaxicon cone angle and is independent of the nature of the fiber. An optical study of microaxicon performance, in terms of confinement ability and length of the generated Bessel-like beams, is presented as a function of the microaxicon angle. This study, made possible by the experimental acquisition of the 3D light distribution of the Bessel-like beams, reveals the relationship between the Bessel-like beam confinement zone and the beam length. Finally, the effect of diffraction of the Bessel-like beams, induced by the limited lateral extent of the incident fiber mode, is studied and discussed.

Optical horn antennas for efficiently transferring photons from a quantum emitter to a single-mode optical fiber

We theoretically demonstrate highly efficient optical coupling between a single quantum emitter and a monomode optical fiber over remarkably broad spectral ranges by extending the concept of horn antenna to optics. The optical horn antenna directs the radiation from the emitter toward the optical fiber and efficiently phase-matches the photon emission with the fiber mode. Numerical results show that an optical horn antenna can funnel up to 85% of the radiation from a dipolar source within an emission cone semi-angle as small as 7 degrees (antenna directivity of 300). It is also shown that 50% of the emitted power from the dipolar source can be collected and coupled to an SMF-28 fiber mode over spectral ranges larger than 1000 nm, with a maximum energy transfer reaching 70 %. This approach may open new perspectives in quantum optics and sensing.

Bloch surface waves at the telecommunication wavelength with lithium niobate as the top layer for integrated optics

Lithium niobate (LN)-based devices are widely used in integrated and nonlinear optics. This material is robust and resistive to high temperatures, which makes the LN-based devices stable, but challenging to fabricate. In this work, we report on the design, manufacturing, and characterization of engineered dielectric media with thin-film LN (TFLN) on top for the coupling and propagation of electromagnetic surface waves at telecommunication wavelengths. The designed one-dimensional photonic crystal (1DPhC) sustains Bloch surface waves (BSWs) at the multilayer-air interface at 1550 nm wavelength with a propagation detected over a distance of 3 mm. The working wavelength and improved BSW propagation parameters open the way for exploration of nonlinear properties of BSW-based devices. It is also expected that these novel devices potentially would be able to modify BSW propagation and coupling by external thermal-electrical stimuli due to the improved quality of the TFLN top layer of 1DPhC.

Double-way spectral tunability for the control of optical nanocavity resonance

Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy (SNOM) has been successful in finely tuning the optical properties of photonic crystal (PC) nanocavities. The SNOM nanoprobes proposed so far allowed for either redshifting or blueshifting the resonance peak of the PC structures. In this paper, we theoretically demonstrate the possibility of a redshifting (up to +0.65 nm) and a blueshifting (up to −5 nm) the PC cavity resonance wavelength with a single perturbation element. As an example, a fiber bowtie-aperture nano-antenna (BNA) engraved at the apex of a SNOM tip is proposed to play this role. The double-way tunability is the result of a competition between an induced electric dipole (BNA at resonance) leading to a redshift and an induced magnetic dipole (the tip metalcoating) giving rise to a blueshift of the resonance wavelength. We demonstrate that the sign of the spectral shift can be simply controlled through the tip-to-cavity distance. This study opens the way to the full postproduction control of the resonance wavelength of high quality-factor optical cavities.

Near-field probing of slow Bloch modes on photonic crystals with a nanoantenna

We study the near-field probing of the slow Bloch laser mode of a photonic crystal by a bowtie nano-aperture (BNA) positioned at the end of a metal-coated fiber probe. We show that the BNA acts as a polarizing nanoprobe allowing us to extract information about the polarization of the near-field of the slow-light mode, without causing any significant perturbation of the lasing process. Near-field experiments reveal a spatial resolution better than λ/20 and a polarization ratio as strong as 110. We also demonstrate that the collection efficiency is two orders of magnitude larger for the BNA than for a 200 nm large circular aperture opened at the apex of the same metal-coated fiber tip. The BNA allows for overcoming one of the main limitations of SNOM linked to the well-known trade off between resolution and signal-to-noise ratio.

Far-field mapping of the longitudinal magnetic and electric optical fields

In this Letter, we demonstrate the experimental mapping of the longitudinal magnetic and electric optical fields with a standard scanning microscope that involves a high-numerical-aperture far-field objective. The imaging concept relies upon the insertion of an azimuthal or a radial polarizer within the detection path of the microscope that acts as an optical electromagnetic filter aimed at transmitting selectively to the detector the signal from the magnetic or electric longitudinal fields present in the detection volume, respectively. The resulting system is thus versatile, noninvasive, and of high resolution, and shows high detection efficiencies. Magnetic optical properties of physical and biological micro- and nano-structures may thus be revealed with a far-field microscope.

Bowtie-shaped nanoaperture: a modal study

Using the N-order finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, we show that optical resonances of the bowtie nanoaperture (BNA) are due to the combination of a guided mode inside the aperture and Fabry-Perot modes along the metal thickness. The resonance of lower energy, which leads to the well-known light confinement in the gap zone, occurs at the cutoff wavelength of the fundamental guided mode. No plasmon resonance is directly involved in the generation of the light hot spot. We also define a straightforward relationship between the resonance wavelengths of the BNA and its geometrical parameters. This brings a simple tool for the optimization of the BNA design.

Miniaturized fiber dosimeter of medical ionizing radiations on a narrow optical fiber

Fiber dosimeters have recently drawn much interest for measuring in vivo and in real time the dose of medical radiations. This paper presents the first miniaturized fiber dosimeter integrated at the end of a narrow 125 μm outer diameter optical fiber. Miniaturization is rendered possible by exploiting the concept of a leaky wave optical antenna for interfacing the scintillators and the fiber and by taking advantage of the low propagation loss of narrow silica fibers and high detection yield of single-pixel photon counters. Upon irradiation at 6 MV in air, our fiber probe leads to a linear detection response with a signal-to-noise ratio as high as 195. Although implemented with inorganic scintillators and fiber, our miniaturized fiber probe induces minimum screening effects on ionizing radiations over a negligible area (0.153 mm²). Our nano-optically driven approach may thus result in ultra-compact fiber dosimeters of negligible footprint in the radiotherapeutic processes, even with non-water equivalent fibers and scintillators. This opens new opportunities for a large panel of therapies relying on ionizing radiations (photons or charged particles).

Unidirectional sub-diffraction waveguiding based on optical spin-orbit coupling in subwavelength plasmonic waveguides

Subwavelength plasmonic waveguides show the unique ability of strongly localizing (down to the nanoscale) and guiding light. These structures are intrinsically two-way optical communication channels, providing two opposite light-propagation directions. As a consequence, when light is coupled to these planar integrated devices directly from the top (or bottom) surface using strongly focused beams, it is equally shared into the two opposite propagation directions. Here, we show that symmetry can be broken over a broad spectral bandwidth by using incident circularly polarized light, on the basis of a spin-orbital angular momentum transfer directly within waveguide bends. We predict that up to 94% of the incoupled light is directed into a single propagation channel of a gap plasmon waveguide. Unidirectional propagation of strongly localized optical energy, far beyond the diffraction limit, becomes switchable by polarization, with no need of intermediate nano-antennas/scatterers as light directors. This study may open new perspectives in a large panel of scientific domains, such as nanophotonic circuitry, routing and sorting, optical nanosensing, and nano-optical trapping and manipulation.

Huge light-enhancement by coupling a Bowtie Nano-antenna's plasmonic resonance to a photonic crystal mode

We numerically demonstrate a drastic enhancement of the light intensity in the vicinity of the gap of Bowtie Nano-antenna (BA) through its coupling with Photonic Crystal (PC) resonator. The resulting huge energy transfer toward the BA is based on the coupling between two optical resonators (BA and PC membrane) of strongly unbalanced quality factors. Thus, these two resonators are designed so that the PC is only slightly perturbed in term of resonance properties. The proposed hybrid dielectric-plasmonic structure may open new avenues in the generation of deeply subwavelength intense optical sources, with direct applications in various domains such as data storage, non-linear optics, optical trapping and manipulation, microscopy, etc.

Chiroptical transmission through a plasmonic helical traveling-wave nanoantenna, towards on-tip chiroptical probes

Resonant plasmonic helices have been widely utilized for locally enhancing and tailoring optical chirality. Here we investigate their nonresonant operation through the recently introduced concept of a plasmonic helical "traveling-wave" nanoantenna. Relying on the coupling of a nonresonant plasmonic helix and a nano-aperture, the helical traveling-wave nanoantenna transmits circularly polarized light with the same handedness as the helix and blocks the other, with a measured dissymmetry factor larger than 1.92 (maximum value of 2). This chiroptical transmission is spatially localized, spectrally broadband, and background-free. Finally, we demonstrate the possibility to engineer such a plasmonic helical nanoantenna at the apex of a sharp tip typically used in scanning near-field microscopies, thus opening the route for moveable, broadband, and background-free chiroptical probes.