The term photonic crystals appears because of the analogy between electron waves in crystals and the light waves in artificial periodic dielectric structures. During the recent years the investigation of one-, two-and three-dimensional periodic structures has attracted a widespread attention of the world optics community because of great potentiality of such structures in advanced applied optical fields. The interest in periodic structures has been stimulated by the fast development of semiconductor technology that now allows the fabrication of artificial structures, whose period is comparable with the wavelength of light in the visible and infrared ranges.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/6354/16969/00781867.pdf

Photonic crystals

Two-photon excitation provides a means of activating chemical or physical processes with high spatial resolution in three dimensions and has made possible the development of three-dimensional fluorescence imaging, optical data storage, and lithographic microfabrication. These applications take advantage of the fact that the two-photon absorption probability depends quadratically on intensity, so under tight-focusing conditions, the absorption is confined at the focus to a volume of order λ3 (where λ is the laser wavelength). Any subsequent process, such as fluorescence or a photoinduced chemical reaction, is also localized in this small volume. Although three-dimensional data storage and microfabrication have been illustrated using two-photon-initiated polymerization of resins incorporating conventional ultraviolet-absorbing initiators, such photopolymer systems exhibit low photosensitivity as the initiators have small two-photon absorption cross-sections (δ). Consequently, this approach requires high laser power, and its widespread use remains impractical. Here we report on a class of π;-conjugated compounds that exhibit large δ (as high as 1, 250 × 10−50 cm4 s per photon) and enhanced two-photon sensitivity relative to ultraviolet initiators. Two-photon excitable resins based on these new initiators have been developed and used to demonstrate a scheme for three-dimensional data storage which permits fluorescent and refractive read-out, and the fabrication of three-dimensional micro-optical and micromechanical structures, including photonic-bandgap-type structures.

Two-photon polymerization initiators for three-dimensional optical data storage and microfabrication

Thirty years ago, Coullet et al. proposed that a special optical field exists in laser cavities bearing some analogy with the superfluid vortex. Since then, optical vortices have been widely studied, inspired by the hydrodynamics sharing similar mathematics. Akin to a fluid vortex with a central flow singularity, an optical vortex beam has a phase singularity with a certain topological charge, giving rise to a hollow intensity distribution. Such a beam with helical phase fronts and orbital angular momentum reveals a subtle connection between macroscopic physical optics and microscopic quantum optics. These amazing properties provide a new understanding of a wide range of optical and physical phenomena, including twisting photons, spin-orbital interactions, Bose-Einstein condensates, etc., while the associated technologies for manipulating optical vortices have become increasingly tunable and flexible. Hitherto, owing to these salient properties and optical manipulation technologies, tunable vortex beams have engendered tremendous advanced applications such as optical tweezers, high-order quantum entanglement, and nonlinear optics. This article reviews the recent progress in tunable vortex technologies along with their advanced applications.

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Optical vortices 30 years on: OAM manipulation from topological charge to multiple singularities

Optical imaging through and inside complex samples is a difficult challenge with important applications in many fields. The fundamental problem is that inhomogeneous samples such as biological tissue randomly scatter and diffuse light, preventing the formation of diffraction-limited images. Despite many recent advances, no current method can perform non-invasive imaging in real-time using diffused light. Here, we show that, owing to the ‘memory-effect’ for speckle correlations, a single high-resolution image of the scattered light, captured with a standard camera, encodes sufficient information to image through visually opaque layers and around corners with diffraction-limited resolution. We experimentally demonstrate single-shot imaging through scattering media and around corners using spatially incoherent light and various samples, from white paint to dynamic biological samples. Our single-shot lensless technique is simple, does not require wavefront-shaping nor time-gated or interferometric detection, and is realized here using a camera-phone. It has the potential to enable imaging in currently inaccessible scenarios. Diffraction-limited imaging in a variety of complex media is realized based on analysis of speckle correlations in light captured using a camera phone.

Non-invasive single-shot imaging through scattering layers and around corners via speckle correlations

High-performance photovoltaic cells use semiconductors to convert sunlight into clean electrical power, and transparent dielectrics or conductive oxides as antireflection coatings. A common feature of these materials is their high refractive index. Whereas high-index materials in a planar form tend to produce a strong, undesired reflection of sunlight, high-index nanostructures afford new ways to manipulate light at a subwavelength scale. For example, nanoscale wires, particles and voids support strong optical resonances that can enhance and effectively control light absorption and scattering processes. As such, they provide ideal building blocks for novel, broadband antireflection coatings, light-trapping layers and super-absorbing films. This Review discusses some of the recent developments in the design and implementation of such photonic elements in thin-film photovoltaic cells.

/pdf/light-management-for-photovoltaics-using-high-index-2u8o7699oo.pdf

Light management for photovoltaics using high-index nanostructures.

Optical microscopy with spatial resolution below the diffraction limit is at present attracting extensive attentions. Further advancement of the near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), a practical super-resolution microscopy, is mainly limited by the low transmission of optical power through the nano-meter apex. This work shows that lightwave can be efficiently delivered to a sub-100 nm apex inside a tapered metallic guiding structure. The enhanced light delivery, about 5-fold, is made possible with an adaptive optimization of the transmission via a spatial light phase-modulator. Numerical simulation shows the mechanism for the efficient light delivery to be the selective excitation of predominantly the lowest-order transverse component of standing wavevector with proper input wavefront modulation, hence favoring the transmission of lightwave in the longitudinal direction. The demonstration of such efficient focusing, to about full-width at half-maximum of a quarter wavelength, has a direct and immediate application in the improvement of the existing NSOMs.

Optimizing lightwave transmission through a nano-tip

An effective approach to achieve 2D/3D switching in an autostereoscopic display with spatial and sequential hybrid control (SSHC) using polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films is proposed. The Monte Carlo method is utilized to analyze the scattering interaction of diffusive PDLC layer within the system. And the experimental result is given for a two-viewpoint SSHC system. The results show that PDLC working as 2D/3D switch is fairly feasible in a directional backlight autostereoscopic display.

P-69: Studies on 2D/3D Switchable Autostereoscopic Display with Spatial and Sequential Hybrid Control Using PDLC Films

Multi-user, high-resolution, high-quality directional backlight autostereoscopic display

The evolution of nonlinear light fields traveling inside a resonantly absorbing Bragg reflector is studied by use of Maxwell-Bloch equations. Numerical results show that a pulse initially resembling a light bullet may effectively experience negative refraction and anomalous dispersion in the resonantly absorbing Bragg reflector.

Nonlinear dynamics of negatively refracted light in a resonantly absorbing Bragg reflector

The intensity-dependent two-photon absorption and nonlinear refraction coefficients of GaP optical crystal at 800 nm were measured with time-resolved femtosecond pump-probe technique. A nonlinear refraction coefficient of 1.7*10^(-17) m2/W and a two-photon absorption coefficient of 1.5*10^(-12) m/W of GaP crystal were obtained at a pump intensity of 3.5*10^(12) W/m2. The nonlinear refraction coefficient saturates at 3.5*10^(12) W/m2, while the two-photon absorption coefficient keeps linear increase at 6*10^(12) W/m2. Furthermore, fifth-order nonlinear refraction of the GaP optical crystal was revealed to occur above pump intensity of 3.5*10^(12) W/m2.

Jianying Zhou

Papers

Optimizing lightwave transmission through a nano-tip

P-69: Studies on 2D/3D Switchable Autostereoscopic Display with Spatial and Sequential Hybrid Control Using PDLC Films

Multi-user, high-resolution, high-quality directional backlight autostereoscopic display

Nonlinear dynamics of negatively refracted light in a resonantly absorbing Bragg reflector

Study of intensity-dependent nonlinear optical coefficients of GaP optical crystal at 800 nm by femtosecond pump-probe experiment