Metamaterials are artificially fabricated materials that allow for the control of light and acoustic waves in a manner that is not possible in nature. This Review covers the recent developments in the study of so-called metasurfaces, which offer the possibility of controlling light with ultrathin, planar optical components. Conventional optical components such as lenses, waveplates and holograms rely on light propagation over distances much larger than the wavelength to shape wavefronts. In this way substantial changes of the amplitude, phase or polarization of light waves are gradually accumulated along the optical path. This Review focuses on recent developments on flat, ultrathin optical components dubbed 'metasurfaces' that produce abrupt changes over the scale of the free-space wavelength in the phase, amplitude and/or polarization of a light beam. Metasurfaces are generally created by assembling arrays of miniature, anisotropic light scatterers (that is, resonators such as optical antennas). The spacing between antennas and their dimensions are much smaller than the wavelength. As a result the metasurfaces, on account of Huygens principle, are able to mould optical wavefronts into arbitrary shapes with subwavelength resolution by introducing spatial variations in the optical response of the light scatterers. Such gradient metasurfaces go beyond the well-established technology of frequency selective surfaces made of periodic structures and are extending to new spectral regions the functionalities of conventional microwave and millimetre-wave transmit-arrays and reflect-arrays. Metasurfaces can also be created by using ultrathin films of materials with large optical losses. By using the controllable abrupt phase shifts associated with reflection or transmission of light waves at the interface between lossy materials, such metasurfaces operate like optically thin cavities that strongly modify the light spectrum. Technology opportunities in various spectral regions and their potential advantages in replacing existing optical components are discussed.

Flat Optics With Designer Metasurfaces

Recent years have seen a renewed interest in the harvesting and conversion of solar energy. Among various technologies, the direct conversion of solar to chemical energy using photocatalysts has received significant attention. Although heterogeneous photocatalysts are almost exclusively semiconductors, it has been demonstrated recently that plasmonic nanostructures of noble metals (mainly silver and gold) also show significant promise. Here we review recent progress in using plasmonic metallic nanostructures in the field of photocatalysis. We focus on plasmon-enhanced water splitting on composite photocatalysts containing semiconductor and plasmonic-metal building blocks, and recently reported plasmon-mediated photocatalytic reactions on plasmonic nanostructures of noble metals. We also discuss the areas where major advancements are needed to move the field of plasmon-mediated photocatalysis forward.

Plasmonic-metal nanostructures for efficient conversion of solar to chemical energy

Since its discovery, the asymmetric Fano resonance has been a characteristic feature of interacting quantum systems. The shape of this resonance is distinctively different from that of conventional symmetric resonance curves. Recently, the Fano resonance has been found in plasmonic nanoparticles, photonic crystals, and electromagnetic metamaterials. The steep dispersion of the Fano resonance profile promises applications in sensors, lasing, switching, and nonlinear and slow-light devices.

The Fano resonance in plasmonic nanostructures and metamaterials

We present an introduction to surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) which reviews the basic experimental facts and the essential features of the mechanisms which have been proposed to account for the observations. We then review very recent fundamental developments which include: SERS from single particles and single molecules; SERS from fractal clusters and surfaces; and new insights into the chemical enhancement mechanism of SERS.

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Surface-enhanced Raman scattering

Plasmons in strongly coupled metallic nanostructures.

Convenient near-field optical measurement and analysis of polystyrene spheres

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly convenient radiation detection deviceSOLUTION: A radiation detection device 10 includes a mobile phone 20, an optical module 11, calculation means 22, and notification means 23 The mobile phone 20 has a camera 21 and a display screen 24 The optical module 11 is provided on the mobile phone 20 and can be separated from the mobile phone 20 The calculation means 22 measures and evaluates an equivalent dose of radiation The notification means 23 dynamically displays calculation results such as the equivalent dose of radiation or an energy spectrum of radiation on the display screen 24 of the mobile phone 20

Radiation detection device

Phase-preserved macroscopic visible-light carpet cloaking beyond two dimensions

The characteristics of plasmonic resonance in a dielectric-sandwiched metamaterial film at visible wavelengths of 650 and 568 nm have been investigated (for both p- and s-polarized light). Our calculated results demonstrate that each mode of plasmonic resonance has maximum resonance strength at a particular film thickness of the metamaterial. We also demonstrated that the effect of evanescent field enhancement is due to plasmonic resonances of the sandwiched metamaterial system. And the stronger the plasmonic resonance strength the larger the evanescent field is enhanced at the interfaces of the metamaterial film. Also we see that the plasmonic resonances in a sandwiched metamaterial are influenced not only by the materials that constitute the interfaces but also by the thickness of surrounding dielectrics or distance between evanescent light source and metamaterial film. Finally, our results show that there might be an effective light propagation length that will let the coupling efficiency between evanescent light source and SPs resonance become a maximum. These properties of plasmonic resonances to structure parameters of metamaterial film and its surrounding dielectrics provide a useful way to control the optical responses of an optoelectronic device when the wavelength of light source is fixed. That is, by suitably choosing light polarizations, thickness of the metamaterial thin film or the surrounding dielectrics and the position of evanescent light source, it is possible to modulate the plasmonic resonance wavenumber or resonance strength of the system. Therefore, the optical responses of the system can be modulated. Our results will be helpful for the structure design to control the behaviours of coupled plasmonic resonances and consequently the optical properties of the dielectric-sandwiched metamaterial film.

Evanescent field enhancement due to plasmonic resonances of a metamaterial slab

The present invention discloses a gamma dose rate measurement system comprising a shielding device and an electronic device. The shielding device is arranged for masking a visible light, so that only a light source substantially being a gamma ray passes through the shielding device. The electronic device comprises a sensing module, an image analysis module and a display module. The sensing module generates a current signal after sensing the gamma ray; the image analysis module receives the current signal and generates an analysis result including a total gamma dose rate and a gamma energy spectrum; and the display module is arranged for displaying the analysis result.

Din Ping Tsai

Papers

Convenient near-field optical measurement and analysis of polystyrene spheres

Radiation detection device

Phase-preserved macroscopic visible-light carpet cloaking beyond two dimensions

Evanescent field enhancement due to plasmonic resonances of a metamaterial slab

Gamma dose rate measurement system