The terahertz frequency region of the electromagnetic spectrum is crucial for understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies and stars throughout the universe's history, as well as the process of planet formation. Detecting the unique spectral signatures of molecules and atoms requires terahertz spectrometers, which must be operated in space observatories due to water vapor absorption in the Earth's atmosphere. However, current terahertz spectrometers face challenges such as low resolution, limited bandwidth, large volume, and complexity. In this paper, the issues of size and weight are addressed by demonstrating a concept for a centimeter-sized, low-weight terahertz spectrometer using a metasurface. The design of the metasurface spectrometer is first discussed for the 1.85 to 2.4 THz range, followed by its fabrication. Next, an array of quantum cascade lasers operating at slightly different frequencies around 2.1 THz is utilized to characterize the spectrometer. Finally, a spectrum inversion method is applied to analyze the measured data, confirming a resolution R (λ/Δλ) of at least 273. This concept can be extended to other application areas, such as planetary observations and various wavelengths in the far-infrared (FIR) and near-infrared (NIR) ranges.

We propose a method for optimizing the geometry of a freeform lens to redirect the light emitted from an extended source into a desired irradiance distribution. We utilize a gradient-based optimization approach with MITSUBA 3, an algorithmic differentiable non-sequential ray tracer that allows us to obtain the gradients of the freeform surface parameters with respect to the produced irradiance distribution. To prevent the optimizer from getting trapped in local minima, we gradually increase the number of degrees of freedom of the surface by using Truncated Hierarchical B-splines (THB-splines) during optimization. The refinement locations are determined by analyzing the gradients of the surface vertices. We first design a freeform using a collimated beam (zero-etendue source) for a complex target distribution to demonstrate the method’s effectiveness. Then, we demonstrate the ability of this approach to create a freeform that can project the light of an extended Lambertian source into a prescribed target distribution.

Optical tweezers have proved to be a powerful tool with a wide range of applications. The gradient force plays a vital role in the stable optical trapping of nano-objects. The scalar method is convenient and effective for analyzing the gradient force in traditional optical trapping. However, when the third-order nonlinear effect of the nano-object is stimulated, the scalar method cannot adequately present the optical response of the metal nanoparticle to the external optical field. Here, we propose a theoretical model to interpret the nonlinear gradient force using the vector method. By combining the optical Kerr effect, the polarizability vector of the metallic nanoparticle is derived. A quantitative analysis is obtained for the gradient force as well as for the optical potential well. The vector method yields better agreement with reported experimental observations. We suggest that this method could lead to a deeper understanding of the physics relevant to nonlinear optical trapping and binding phenomena.

As a two-dimensional planar material with low depth profile, a metasurface can generate non-classical phase distributions for the transmitted and reflected electromagnetic waves at its interface. Thus, it offers more flexibility to control the wave front. A traditional metasurface design process mainly adopts the forward prediction algorithm, such as Finite Difference Time Domain, combined with manual parameter optimization. However, such methods are time-consuming, and it is difficult to keep the practical meta-atom spectrum being consistent with the ideal one. In addition, since the periodic boundary condition is used in the meta-atom design process, while the aperiodic condition is used in the array simulation, the coupling between neighboring meta-atoms leads to inevitable inaccuracy. In this review, representative intelligent methods for metasurface design are introduced and discussed, including machine learning, physics-information neural network, and topology optimization method. We elaborate on the principle of each approach, analyze their advantages and limitations, and discuss their potential applications. We also summarize recent advances in enabled metasurfaces for quantum optics applications. In short, this paper highlights a promising direction for intelligent metasurface designs and applications for future quantum optics research and serves as an up-to-date reference for researchers in the metasurface and metamaterial fields.

Nonlinear responses of nanoparticles induce enlightening phenomena in optical tweezers. With the gradual increase in optical intensity, effects from saturable absorption (SA) and reverse SA (RSA) arise in sequence and thereby modulate the nonlinear properties of materials. In current nonlinear optical traps, however, the underlying physical mechanism is mainly confined within the SA regime because threshold values required to excite the RSA regime are extremely high. Herein, we demonstrate, both in theory and experiment, nonlinear optical tweezing within the RSA regime, proving that a fascinating composite trapping state is achievable at ultrahigh intensities through an optical force reversal induced through nonlinear absorption. Integrated results help in perfecting the nonlinear optical trapping system, thereby providing beneficial guidance for wider applications of nonlinear optics.

Algorithmic differentiable ray tracing is a new paradigm that allows one to solve the forward problem of how light propagates through an optical system while obtaining gradients of the simulation results with respect to parameters specifying the optical system. Specifically, the use of algorithmically differentiable non-sequential ray tracing provides an opportunity in the field of illumination engineering to design complex optical system. We demonstrate its potential by designing freeform lenses that project a prescribed irradiance distribution onto a plane. The challenge consists in finding a suitable surface geometry of the lens so that the light emitted by a light source is redistributed into a desired irradiance distribution. We discuss the crucial steps allowing the non-sequential ray tracer to be differentiable. The obtained gradients are used to optimize the geometry of the freeform, and we investigate the effectiveness of adding a multi-layer perceptron neural network to the optimization that outputs parameters defining the freeform lens. Lenses are designed for various sources such as collimated beams or point sources, and finally, a grid of point sources approximating an extended source. The obtained lens designs are finally validated using the commercial non-sequential ray tracer LightTools.

Stable optical trapping of gold nanoparticles is essential and desirable because of its wide applications in nanotechnology. While several factors have been proposed to affect optical trapping stability, the sample's volume fraction during optical trapping has often been neglected. To address this, by utilizing the effective medium theory, we analyze the stability of optical trapping of a gold nanoparticle in human serum albumin solutions, HIV-1,virus solutions, and gold nanoparticle solutions in this article. Our comparative analysis of the optical force and potential on a single gold nanoparticle in solutions of varying volume fractions reveals that both parameters decrease with increasing volume fraction. This finding can aid in more effective control of gold nanoparticles in various applications.

Wavefront shaping is a technique to study and control light transport inside scattering media. Wavefront shaping is considered to be applicable to any complex material, yet in most previous studies, the only sample geometries that are studied are slabs or wave-guides. In this paper, we study how macroscopic changes in the sample shape affect light scattering using the wavefront shaping technique. Using a flexible scattering material, we optimize the intensity of light in a focusing spot using wavefront shaping and record the optimized pattern, comparing the enhancement for different curvatures and beam radii. We validate our hypothesis that wavefront shaping has a similar enhancement regardless of the free-form shape of the sample and thus offers relevant potential for industrial applications. We propose a new figure of merit to evaluate the performance of wavefront shaping for different shapes. Surprisingly, based on this figure of merit, we observe that for this particular sample, wavefront shaping has a slightly better performance for a free-form shape than for a slab shape.

When redistributing the light emitted by a source into a prescribed irradiance distribution, it is not guaranteed that, given the source and optical constraints, the desired irradiance distribution can be achieved.We analyze the problem by assuming an optical black box that is shift-invariant, meaning that a change in source position does not change the shape of the irradiance distribution, only its position. The irradiance distribution we can obtain is then governed by deconvolution. Using positive-definite functions and Bochner s theorem, we provide conditions such that the irradiance distribution can be realized for finite etendue sources.We also analyze the problem using optimization, showing that the result heavily depends on the chosen source distribution.

We show that the scattering of light by a composite nanoparticle leads to directional scattering through the phase difference between the light scattered by each of the materials. The resulting scatter pattern is experimentally verified.

Recently a spectrometer concept has been invented which uses compressive sensing in combination with photonic crystal filters. Here we present an adaption of this concept in push-broom configuration for earth observation. This implementation allows for a compact design, while maintaining a high spatial resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio compared to other traditional implementations. The photonic crystals have a unique transmission profile and act as a spectral filter, which allows for the computational reconstruction of the input spectrum with a limited number of filters. We show, using simulations, that our approach is able to reconstruct input radiance spectra with high accuracy and assess the performance for different number of filter sets. We furthermore show proof-of-principle measurements of the transmission profile of a manufactured photonic crystal. Future research will focus on the effect of noise on the reconstruction algorithm as well as further filter set optimization by combining the filter selection process with trace gas concentration retrieval.

We show that composite nanoparticles can be designed to scatter light into a desired direction. By choosing the materials of the nanoparticle carefully, the phase of the scattered light by the different components can be controlled. This leads to constructive interference is certain directions and destructive interference in others, resulting in directional scattering obtainable for a large bandwidth. FEM simulations were used to validate the theory. Furthermore, SiO2/Au nanoparticles were fabricated and measured confirming the directional scattering.

In most previous studies about light scattering, no geometry is used besides a slab. In this work, we study how macroscopic changes in the geometry affects light scattering using the Wavefront Shaping technique.

Imaging and transport light through scattering opaque media is a hot topic pursued in multiple fields, ranging from nanotechnology to life sciences. A promising technique to do this is wavefront shaping (WFS), where the light propagation through a scattering medium is controlled by interference [1] [2]. Recently, the potential of WFS was even extended to, for instance, time-varying samples [3] [4]. In most cases to date, WFS has been done on the quintessential scattering sample geometry, namely in slabs.

In this paper, we report on surface-plasmon-resonance enhancement of the time-dependent reflection changes caused by laser-induced acoustic waves.We measure an enhancement of the reflection changes induced by several acoustical modes, such as longitudinal, quasi-normal, and surface acoustic waves, by a factor of 10-20.We show that the reflection changes induced by the longitudinal and quasi-normal modes are enhanced in the wings of the surface plasmon polariton resonance. The surface acoustic wave-induced reflection changes are enhanced on the peak of this resonance.We attribute the enhanced reflection changes to the longitudinal wave and the quasi-normal mode to a shift in the surface plasmon polariton resonance via acoustically induced electron density changes and via grating geometry changes.

A new method for fast, high resolution interrogation of an array of photonic sensors is proposed. The technique is based on the integrated Fourier transform (FT) interrogator previously introduced by the authors. Compared to other interferometric interrogators, the FT-interrogator is very compact and has an unprecedented tolerance to variations in the nominal values of the sensors’ resonance wavelength. In this paper, the output voltages of the interrogator are written as a polynomial function of complex variables whose modulus is unitary and whose argument encodes the resonance wavelength modulation of the photonic sensors. Two different methods are proposed to solve the system of polynomial equations. In both cases, the Gröbner basis of the polynomial ideal is computed using lexicographical monomial ordering, resulting in a system of polynomials whose complex variable contributions can be decoupled. Using an NVidia graphics processing card, the processing time for 1 026 000 systems of algebraic equations takes around 9 ms, which is more than two orders of magnitude faster than the interrogation method previously introduced by the authors. Such a performance allows for real time interrogation of high-speed sensors. Multiple solutions satisfy the algebraic system of equations, but, in general, only one of the solutions gives the actual resonance wavelength modulation of the sensors. Other solutions have been used for optimization, leading to a reduction in the cross-talk among the sensors. The dynamic strain resolution is 1.66 nε/√Hz.