Targeted Sub-Attomole Cancer Biomarker Detection Based on Phase Singularity 2D Nanomaterial-Enhanced Plasmonic Biosensor

Detection of small cancer biomarkers with low molecular weight and a low concentration range has always been challenging yet urgent in many clinical applications such as diagnosing early-stage cancer,monitoring treatment and detecting relapse.Here,a highly enhanced plasmonic biosensor that can overcome this challenge is developed using atomically thin two-dimensional phase change nanomaterial.By precisely engineering the configuration with atomically thin materials,the phase singularity has been successfully achieved with a significantly enhanced lateral position shift effect.Based on our knowledge,it is the first experimental demonstration of a lateral position signal change>340μm at a sensing interface from all optical techniques.With this enhanced plasmonic effect,the detection limit has been experimentally demonstrated to be 10^(-15) mol L^(−1) for TNF-α cancer marker,which has been found in various human diseases including inflammatory diseases and different kinds of cancer.The as-reported novel integration of atomically thin Ge_(2)Sb_(2)Te_(5) with plasmonic substrate, which results in a phase singularity and thus a giant lateral position shift, enables the detection of cancer markers with low molecular weight at femtomolar level. These results will definitely hold promising potential in biomedical application and clinical diagnostics.

Spatial correlation properties and phase singularity annihilation of Gaussian Schell-model beams in the focal region

By using the generalized Debye diffraction integral, this paper studies the spatial correlation properties and phase singularity annihilation of apertured Gaussian Schell-model （GSM） beams in the focal region. It is shown that the width of the spectral degree of coherence can be larger, less than or equal to the corresponding width of spectral density, which depends not only on the scalar coherence length of the beams, but also on the truncation parameter. With a gradual increase of the truncation parameter, a pair of phase singularities of the spectral degree of coherence in the focal plane approaches each other, resulting in subwavelength structures. Finally, the annihilation of pairs of phase singularities takes place at a certain value of the truncation parameter. With increasing scalar coherence length, the annihilation occurs at the larger truncation parameter. However, the creation process of phase singularities outside the focal plane is not found for GSM beams.

Knotted Topological Phase Singularities of Electromagnetic Field

In this paper,knotted objects (RS vortices) in the theory of topological phase singularity in electromagneticfield have been investigated in details.By using the Duan's topological current theory,we rewrite the topological currentform of RS vortices and use this topological current we reveal that the Hopf invariant of RS vortices is just the sum ofthe linking and self-linking numbers of the knotted RS vortices.Furthermore,the conservation of the Hopf invariant inthe splitting,the mergence and the intersection processes of knotted RS vortices is also discussed.

Propagation dynamics and experimental observation of quadratic vortex beam

The concept of a quadratic vortex beam is proposed, in which phase term of the beam is given by exp（i mθ2）. The phase of the quadratic vortex beam increases with azimuthal angle nonlinearly. This change in phase produces several unexpected effects. Unlike the circularly symmetric beam spot of normal vortex beams, the intensity distribution of the quadratic vortex beam is shown to be asymmetric. The phase singularities will shift in the transverse beam plane on propagation.

Focusing of Partially Coherent Vortex Beams by an Aperture Lens

The focusing properties of partially coherent vortex wave fields are studied. Expressions are derived for the intensity distribution and the degree of coherence near the geometrical focus. It is found that the size of coherence vortex dark core in the focal region depends on the topological charges and normalized coherence lengths. It is found that the desired vortex dark core near the geometrical focus can be generated by choosing appropriate values of parameters. The degree of coherence possesses a pair of phase singularities regions in the geometrical focus neighbourhood.

Topological Properties of Spatial Coherence Function

The topological properties of the spatial coherence function are investigated rigorously. The phase singular structures （coherence vortices） of coherence function can be naturally deduced from the topological current, which is an abstract mathematical object studied previously. We find that coherence vortices are characterized by the Hopf index and Brouwer degree in topology. The coherence flux quantization and the linking of the closed coherence vortices are also studied from the topological properties of the spatial coherence function.

Tunable azimuthally non-uniform orbital angular momentum carried by vector optical fields

Orbital angular momentum(OAM), as a fundamental parameter of a photon, has attracted great attention in recent years. Although various properties and applications have been developed by modulating the OAM of photons, there is rare research about the non-uniform OAM. We propose and generate a new kind of continuously tunable azimuthally non-uniform OAM for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, which is carried by a hybridly polarized vector optical field with a cylindrically symmetric intensity profile and a complex polarization singularity. We also present the perfect vector optical field carrying non-uniform OAM with a fixed radius independent of topological charges, which can propagate steadily without radial separation, solving the problem of the unsteady propagation due to the broadened OAM spectrum of the non-uniform OAM. This new kind of tunable non-uniform OAM with a cylindrical symmetric intensity profile, complex polarization singularity, and propagation stability enriches the family of OAMs and can be widely used in many regions such as optical manipulation, quantum optics, and optical communications.

Improved Hrmander’s Theorem and New Methods for Oscillatory Integral Operators

This paper proves a theorem on the decay rate of the oscillatory integral operator with a degenerate C^∞ phase function, thus improving a classical theorem of HSrmander. The proof invokes two new methods to resolve the singularity of such kind of operators： a delicate method to decompose the operator and balance the L^2 norm estimates; and a method for resolution of singularity of the convolution type. The operator is decomposed into four major pieces instead of infinite dyadic pieces, which reveals that Cotlar＇s Lemma is not essential for the L^2 estimate of the operator. In the end the conclusion is further improved from the degenerate C^∞ phase function to the degenerate C^4 phase function.